Working Like a Dog: Diamond Mine Trials Four-Legged Robot
October 07, 21
(IDEX Online) - A robot dog is being put through its paces at the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, in Canada, to see whether it can take over routine tasks from human co-workers.
De Beers say they're seeing how well the four-legged robot, called Spot (pictured), fares at monitoring gauges and other readouts, inspecting for spillages and checking fire detection systems, all by itself.
They're also testing Spot's ability to go up and down stairs, work autonomously through a pre-programmed inspection route, capture still images, as well as video, thermographic images and acoustic data.
Spot may be required to work in wet and dusty conditions, and at temperatures as low as -40C at the mine in the Northwest Territories on the edge of the Arctic Circle.
The robots can travel up to 1,000 meters on a single charge and carry a payload of up to 14 kg.
"We have leased two Spot robots for a period of a year to determine whether the units can be of use with tasks deemed to be routine or those where the safety of personnel may be in question," said Sean Kennedy, of De Beers.