Boston Dynamics

What it does

Boston Dynamics makes three robots. For workplace safety, the relevant one is Spot, a four-legged robot that walks inspection routes so people do not have to. Boston Dynamics lists thermal inspection for hot spots, acoustic detection of air and gas leaks, visual inspection, and remote investigation of hazardous situations among its uses ^[1]. Spot can repeat recorded routes, recharge on a dock and climb stairs; the company gives an IP54 rating, a 14 kg payload limit and about 90 minutes of runtime ^[1].

Spot is not certified for explosive atmospheres. Its manual claims no ATEX or IECEx rating and says Spot should not be used where high voltage equipment could come into contact with it ^[2]. A third-party gas detection kit from MFE, built on a Blackline Safety detector, sends Spot back to its start point when readings such as LEL cross a set threshold, because Spot is not intrinsically safe ^[3].

Stretch is a mobile robot that unloads boxes from trucks and containers ^[4]. At Arvato, Stretch runs without a cage; lidar sets an outer zone that sounds an alarm and an inner zone that stops the robot ^[5]. Atlas is a humanoid; The Register reported that all 2026 Atlas production is allocated to Hyundai and Google DeepMind ^[6].

Who it is for

Spot targets sites where routine inspections expose people to heat, gas, confined spaces or unstable ground. At POSCO, Boston Dynamics says Spot inspects the outside of a blast furnace where workers previously wore heavy protective gear and faced radiant heat and gas ^[7]. At an AB InBev brewery, the company says Spot inspects a CO2-only area where technicians would need breathing apparatus ^[8]. Stretch is for warehouses with manual truck unloading, an ergonomic hazard ^[5].

The robot also brings its own hazards. The manual says Spot is not meant for collaborative work with people, that bystanders may be present only occasionally, and that operators and bystanders should assume Spot may move unexpectedly ^[2]. Its stopping function is a Category 0 stop that Boston Dynamics says meets ISO 13849-1 Category 1, Performance Level c, with a stop within 1 meter on flat ground; the emergency stop is stated to comply with ISO 13850 ^[2]. Boston Dynamics asks each user to carry out a site risk assessment ^[2].

How it is deployed

Orbit, the fleet software, comes in three forms: AWS cloud, a rack-mounted Site Hub on premises, or a virtual machine for VMware, Hyper-V, Azure or Google Cloud ^[9]. A 2024 security sheet describes encryption at rest and in transit, SAML single sign-on and outside security assessments ^[10]. Orbit can black out faces in Spot Cam images when the feature is enabled ^[11]. The Spot privacy notice says service logs are deleted six months after upload and Orbit cloud data within 10 days of account deactivation ^[12]. Orbit lists APIs, webhooks and links to maintenance and warehouse systems ^[9]. Spot 5.2 (October 2026) adds data intake from PLCs and fixed sensors and an MCP layer that lets AI agents dispatch Spot ^[13].

Boston Dynamics' implementation guide, reported by Highways Today, says wireless coverage, maintenance ownership and workforce communication are the harder parts of a rollout ^[14].

Notable public customers and coverage

Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 as an MIT spin-off ^[15]. Its US federal vendor registration lists Boston Dynamics, Inc. in Waltham, Massachusetts ^[16]. The Korea Times reported in July 2026 that Hyundai Motor Group was buying SoftBank's remaining 9.65% stake, with HMG Global, the group's chair and Hyundai Glovis holding the rest ^[17]. The company says over 1,500 Spots are in customer hands, naming BP and National Grid ^[1]; Highways Today reported a figure above 2,000 from a later guide ^[14]. AB InBev's case study reports 150 anomalies found in six months and average repair time falling from months to 13 days; these are vendor-published figures ^[8]. The Sacramento Bee reported Caltrans sending Spot into culverts and other confined spaces, a configured cost of about $250,000 per unit, and an estimated $50,000 to $60,000 saved on one collapsed culvert ^[18].

Things to ask in an evaluation

• Which of your inspection areas are classified hazardous zones, and how will you keep Spot out of them?
• How are bystander exposure, routes and stop zones covered in the site risk assessment?
• Is the SOC 2 Type II report available under NDA, and does it cover Site Hub deployments?
• How accurate are thermal, acoustic and AI anomaly detections, and how was that measured?
• What wireless upgrades, payloads, support and dock costs come with a full configuration?

Our take

Strengths

• Takes people out of routine rounds in hot, gas-affected and confined areas, with named customer examples ^{[7] [8] [18]}.
• Documented safety functions and intended-use limits in a public manual ^[2].
• Cloud, on-premises and virtual machine hosting, a security sheet and optional face masking ^{[9] [10] [11]}.

Watch-outs

• Not rated for explosive atmospheres; hazardous-zone work needs other robots or Ex-rated tools ^{[2] [3]}.
• No public pricing; reported configured costs are far above base hardware ^[18].
• Outcome figures and detection accuracy are vendor reported with no published method ^{[8] [1]}.

Best fit: Plants and infrastructure owners in non-classified areas that want to cut routine inspection exposure and can fund wireless coverage, a risk assessment and a dedicated robot owner.