Commercial Checked with the makerUnited States#3 in public attentionAssisted

Spot

An all-electric quadruped for inspection and data capture, with an IP54 body, 14 kg payload and about 90 minutes of runtime. Hyundai has controlled Boston Dynamics since June 2021. Spot has been used by police, fire services and militaries, and Boston Dynamics led a 2022 pledge against weaponising general-purpose robots.

Price: $74,500Cheaper than 5%
Height: 61 cmTaller than 59%
Weight: 33.8 kgHeavier than 54%
Payload: 14 kgCarries more than 48%
Speed: 5.8 km/hFaster than 18%
Battery: 1.5 hRuns longer than 12%

Simulate in your job Compare with Vision 60

Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: patrol and inspect. Five more quick questions.

Why it matters

The first legged robot sold commercially at scale for industrial work.

Real-world use

Massachusetts State Police were the first police force to use it (2019); the maker says over 1,500 robots are in customers' hands.

Timeline

First shown: 2019-09
Released: 2020-06-16

Commercial launch through Early Adopter lease programme

Maker

Boston DynamicsCompany · founded 1992 · Waltham, Massachusetts, United States

Owned by Hyundai Motor Group since June 2021 (80% stake bought from SoftBank for about $880M; SoftBank kept about 20%).

How it stacks up

Against other robot dogs that publish the figure. Pick a measure.

Spot is taller than 59% of the 22 other robot dogs that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.

Height 61 cm 11 cm100 cm #10 of 23 · taller than 59%

Not published by the maker: joints.

Public attention

#3 of 396 current machines in public attention.

55of 100

No Wikipedia article of its own yet
4 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
about 1,500 units or vehicles reported by the maker or press (may be a company-wide total)
12 reported deployments

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

The parts the company has talked about publicly.

Movement: Walks on legs
How it runs: Assisted. The base Spot is mostly driven by an operator with a tablet while it handles balance, stairs and obstacles; Autowalk lets it repeat recorded routes.
Actuators & motors: 12 electric joint actuators, three per leg; top speed 1.6 m/s, climbs 30-degree slopes and 300 mm steps
Hands: None on the base robot; the optional Spot Arm adds a manipulator with a gripper (see Spot Enterprise and Spot Arm)
Sensors & vision: Stereo depth cameras giving 360-degree terrain sensing to about 4 m; works in light above 2 lux; optional Spot CAM/CAM+ (thermal), lidar, laser scanner and acoustic leak-detection payloads
Battery & power: 564 Wh pack (5.2 kg), about 90 minutes average runtime, 180 minutes standby, about 60 minutes to recharge; autonomous docking and charging supported
Materials & build: IP54 body; operates from -20 to 55 C; 33.8 kg with battery
AI & software: Orbit fleet, facility and inspection management; AI Visual Inspection (AIVI-Learning) moved to Google Gemini / Gemini Robotics models in April 2026; Spot 5.2 adds asset-based data and links to maintenance systems; public SDK and API; autonomous replanning and self-righting
Other details: 14 kg payload on M5 T-slot rails with two DB25 power/data ports (150 W each); Wi-Fi 2.4/5 GHz and Ethernet

Named suppliers:Harmonic Drive Velodyne Carnegie Robotics Fluke Process Instruments Sorama Trimble Emesent Exyn Technologies FARO Technologies HL Mando Leica Geosystems

Lineage

Every Boston Dynamics machine in order.

Boston Dynamics also makes 5 humanoids. See every Boston Dynamics robot

Made, sold and where

Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.

Price: $74,500US$74,500 base price at public sale in June 2020; leased from September 2019; maker now says contact sales
How to get one: No official buying page found
Sold or delivered: Over 1,500 robots with customers (maker)
Where it is sold or used: Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
Customers and pilots: bp, National Grid, GFS, Turner Construction, Woodside, Acciona, RATP Infrastructures, Virginia Tech; police and fire services including Massachusetts State Police

Where it is sold and supported

What Boston Dynamics publishes about where you can get Spot and who looks after it.

How to get it: Through the maker's sales form; its partners page and integration services are linked from the product page
Support: Spot Care long-term service plan, support centre, customer success and integration services, and Boston Dynamics University training

From bostondynamics.com, checked October 12, 2026. No sales regions, lease terms or warranty terms stated on the pages read. Orders go through the maker directly; no public order page. Simbeing does not sell robots: buy from the maker's own page.

For builders

Can you program Spot? What Boston Dynamics publishes.

Open to programming

Public documentation, an SDK or open-source code. Licence terms are in the repository's licence file; not read.

How: Public Spot SDK: Python client library, API protocol definition for other languages, examples, payload docs and interface control document
Developer pages: github.com

From dev.bostondynamics.com, checked October 12, 2026. This describes what the maker publishes, not what the robot can do.

Where it works

12 reported deployments.

Map

Deployed

Massachusetts State Police · Bomb squad · since 2019-11

Massachusetts State Police used Spot with its bomb squad, records released in November 2019 showed. Popular Mechanics
Deployed

SpaceX · Starbase (Boca Chica test site) · Boca Chica · since 2020-06 · 1 units

A Spot robot named Zeus was filmed inspecting SpaceX's Starship test site at Boca Chica in June 2020. One robot named Zeus Interesting Engineering
Deployed

Aker BP · Skarv FPSO · since 2020-11

Spot carried out inspection rounds on Aker BP's Skarv floating production vessel off Norway. Offshore Magazine
Pilot

National Highways · M5 motorway, Somerset · since 2024-02

National Highways trialled Spot for structure inspections on the M5 in Somerset. BBC News
Pilot

Kia (Hyundai Motor Group) · Kia Autoland Gwangmyeong plant · Gwangmyeong · since 2021-09

Spot began safety patrols at a Kia factory as Hyundai's first joint project with Boston Dynamics. Yonhap News Agency
Deployed

Honolulu Police Department · Honolulu · since 2021 · 1 units

Honolulu police used Spot to take temperatures of people entering a COVID-19 shelter tent city. Bought for about $150,000 of federal pandemic relief money Law Officer
Pilot

New York City Police Department · Emergency Service Unit (Digidog) · New York · since 2020-12 · 1 units

The NYPD leased a Spot, called Digidog, and tested it on emergency calls including a Bronx search. Route Fifty
Deployed

Los Angeles Police Department · Los Angeles · since 2023 · 1 units

The LAPD accepted a donated Spot robot for hazardous situations, with quarterly usage reports required. Donated by the Los Angeles Police Foundation (about $278,000) Los Angeles Magazine
Deployed

St. Petersburg Police Department · St. Petersburg · since 2022-02 · 1 units

St. Petersburg police in Florida added a Spot to support SWAT calls and search unsafe buildings. Paid for by an outside group 99.5 QYK
Pilot

Pompeii Archaeological Park · Pompeii Archaeological Park · Pompei · since 2022-03

Pompeii's archaeological park uses Spot to inspect looters' tunnels and track restoration work. designboom
Deployed

Otto Group (Hermes Fulfilment) · Hermes Fulfilment centre · Haldensleben

Spot does predictive maintenance and security rounds at Otto Group's Hermes Fulfilment centre in Haldensleben. Spot works between three sites; only Hermes is named (Boston Dynamics) Boston Dynamics
Deployed

LS Electric · LS Electric Busan plant · Busan · since 2026-09 · 2 units

LS Electric put two Spot robots into full service checking equipment at its ultra-high-voltage transformer plant in Busan. Two Spot units in full service after about two months of trials (Sep 2026) The Korea Herald / Herald Corp

News

The latest 4, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.

2026-10-09
Bedrock to test Spot robots in downtown Detroit
Property firm Bedrock Detroit and Boston Dynamics plan to test Spot in downtown Detroit for jobs such as picking up litter, building inspections and patrols.
WRIF
2026-04-08
Spot inspection AI switches to Gemini Robotics
Boston Dynamics moved Orbit AIVI-Learning visual inspection for Spot onto Google Gemini and Gemini Robotics models, adding new gauge and 5S checks.
Boston Dynamics
2026-03-12
Boston Dynamics and FieldAI team up on Spot
Boston Dynamics partnered with FieldAI to run FieldAI's field foundation models on Spot for autonomous construction-site inspection and mapping.
Boston Dynamics
2020-06-16
You Can Now Buy Spot the Robot Dog—If You’ve Got $74,500
Spot became available for outright purchase by US commercial and industrial customers at $74,500, following its leasing program.
WIRED

Side by side with its peers

Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose

Full comparison

Measure	SpotBoston Dynamics	Vision 60Ghost Robotics (majority-owned by LIG Nex1 since 2024)Same job: inspection · Both walk · Both on sale or in pilots · Similar size · Similar price	ANYmal DANYboticsSame job: inspection · Both walk · Both on sale or in pilots · Similar size	Spirit 40Ghost RoboticsSame job: inspection · Both walk · Both on sale or in pilots
First shown	2019-09	2021-05	2021	2020
Status	Commercial	Commercial	Commercial	Commercial
Height	61 cm	69 cm	89 cm	—
Weight	33.8 kg	51 kg	55.7 kg	—
Joints	—	12	12	—
Speed	5.8 km/h	9 km/h	4.7 km/h	—
Payload	14 kg	10 kg	10 kg	—
Battery	1.5 h	3.1 h	2 h	—
Price	$74,500	$100,000	—	—

Sources

Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.

Boston Dynamics Spot product page The Robot Report Spot commercial availability a milestone for quadrupeds Scientific American The NYPD's robot dog was a really bad idea Technical.ly Ghost Robotics acquisition, South Korea, Israel military protests TechCrunch Now any US business can buy Boston Dynamics' Spot robot for $74,500 Boston Dynamics AIVI-Learning now powered by Google Gemini Robotics Boston Dynamics Spot 5.2 release

Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use