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Ontario Energy Era (OPG) is testing using the Boston Dynamics Spot robotic with an onboard manipulator to remotely journey high-voltage breakers. The first use case is to avoid wasting lives and stop damage to energy station staff. There are an estimated 30,000 situations of arc flash every year in the US alone, and one to 2 fatalities happen every day in North America.

This picture (taken from the video) exhibits the customized finish effector developed as a part of the totally automated racking process for Spot. | Credit score: Boston Dynamics
OPG has 5 Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots deployed all through their Enterprise Innovation division. In 2022, the staff sought to see if Spot’s dexterous arm may very well be used to help in tripping and racking out a 600-volt breaker—an exercise that’s excessive danger for arc flash. As proven within the video above, Boston Dynamics engineers have taken this utility to the subsequent stage by totally automating the process. Spot can carry out your complete operation autonomously, with a human issuing high-level instructions safely out of hurt’s manner.