Robot dog impresses at Rochester Memorial School

ROCHESTER — A dog was on the loose at Rochester Memorial School, but there was no worry of the canine biting students or going to the bathroom indoors as it strolled through the school gymnasium.

That’s because the dog was a robot.

Rochester Memorial School parent Kevin Garell presented the robot dog named Spot — designed and created by robotics company Boston Dynamics — to second through sixth grade students at the school Wednesday, April 23.

During two separate presentations, students laughed and roared as the yellow robot ambled about on its four legs, picked up a toy with its head — which doubles as its hand, and rolled over on the gym floor.

Garell, a senior director of customer success at Boston Dynamics, remotely controlled Spot during the presentations. Assisting him were his children Grady and Gavin, second and fifth grade students at Rochester Memorial School.

Garell explained some of Spot’s uses, like how firefighters and other occupations utilize the robot to safely inspect things. A slideshow demonstrated how Spot’s technology granted him senses, like a form of sight. The robot dog’s “brain” is a circuit board.

“Spot’s brain is amazing,” a student said.

Boston Dynamics designed the robot with legs rather than wheels — an example of “biomimicry” — because “nature has the solution” for tackling difficult terrain, Garell said.

Spot can climb anything that’s 36 inches high or less, according to Garell.

There are approximately 1,500 Spots out in the world, and Boston Dynamics can make five Spots a day, Garell said to students. The robot dog that visited Rochester Memorial School was about a year old, he said.

The presentation also included a video showcasing another Boston Dynamics robot, this one a humanoid bot with a bright round head named Atlas.

“What the,” several students said as the video of Atlas played.

Students lobbed various questions about Spot at Garell, like how fast it can run, if it can jump and if it can play soccer.

One student asked if Spot can eat. Garell’s answer was the robot dog doesn’t eat, which means it doesn’t ever have to go to the bathroom.

That makes Spot a really good pet, Garell said.