Meet the $100K robodog Spot that patrols a Long Island construction site
A Long Island construction project has recruited a $100,000 mechanical mutt to walk the premises, ensuring maximum efficiency and safety for workers building the new wing of South Shore Hospital in Bay Shore.
“I would say it’s a morale booster,” Suffolk Construction’s Adam Fyrer, who handles the state-of-the-art Boston Dynamics-made robotic dog — aptly named Spot — told The Post.
“I think a lot of people haven’t seen this kind of technology in person. It’s something that excites them to come to work.”
Rather than doing tricks, Spot’s primary focus on the future site of a six-story building that will feature almost 100 new patient rooms is both worker and structural safety, according to Fyrer, who uses the bot on other projects as well.
Spot primarily conducts walkthroughs on the property that would conventionally be delegated to someone like a project manager, to create a “Google Street”-esque map that owners can refer to upon the job’s completion.
“The benefit of that is you get it more accurate and continuously throughout the job cycle,” Fyrer said, adding that Spot’s trips take off about an hour of labor a day at the Northwell Health facility.