Over a year ago, on June 12, 2023, the College of Engineering added a new addition to the team that gained campus attention, SPOT, the robotic dog.
The Engineering Department received $98.8 million from state legislators to help expand the program in 2023. From those funds, $95.3 million was authorized for a new engineering building.
Every academic year, the College of Engineering and Technology will receive $3.5 million to support robotics, energy, controls and automation.
The Construction Management Department wanted to use some of the money on a project that would incorporate robotics and automation. Bruce Gehrig, director of the department, immediately knew the solution.
“I was actually aware of the SPOT robot. And I knew that it was used in construction, so I proposed it. Advanced technologies like SPOT is one of those things that our students get a chance to see and to work with and learn how to actually utilize it on construction sites,” said Gehrig.
SPOT is a robotic dog designed by Boston Dynamics; a company created by former MIT leg lab researcher, Marc Raibert, that focuses on robotics.
The robot is full of sensors and cameras along with software for the brain that allows it to identify the environment around it. Working autonomously, the robot dog can navigate its surroundings walking up and down stairs, walking over obstacles and around people or walls.
“SPOT can navigate a construction site. There are lots of things we have to inspect during construction to make sure it’s being built properly; SPOT can do that instead of a human,” said Gehrig.
SPOT also uses sensors to detect QR codes around the Belk building that give SPOT certain tasks around the building. One of the things SPOT can do with the QR codes is pick up a book from a professor’s office and bring it to them.
With all its sensors, SPOT can collect data used for construction and most importantly it can go into places that are unsafe for humans whether it be high areas, closed confined spaces or other hazardous areas.
“It’s really a 24/7 inspection machine that can go out and do all these things on its own,” Gehrig said.
SPOT is currently used in one special studies course, advanced construction technologies. In this class, students learn about different types of construction technologies. They also learn how to manipulate SPOT and utilize the data it collects to analyze and approve construction projects.
“A lot of people don’t know exactly all the capabilities of SPOT so we want to go out and put it on construction sites and test it in various environments and determine exactly what it can do,” Gehrig said.
Only students currently enrolled in the class are trained in how to use SPOT. There’s a goal to develop a training program where all students in the program have a chance to train.
Alexander Borrelli, an engineering technology major, is currently the only student in construction management trained to use SPOT.
From June 25-26, 2023, Borrelli traveled to Boston Dynamics with a team of six faculty and staff members in the engineering technology department where he received in-depth certification training on how to use SPOT and how to train other students.
Borrelli’s area of study focuses on how things are made. Borrelli was able to see how the SPOT robot was designed, tested and manufactured.
“It’s been interesting to see how SPOT was manufactured,” said Borrelli.
The standard SPOT robot comes in yellow, when bringing the robot to campus, the engineering department went to the print shop and branded it to match WCU’s colors.
“We added the purple and the other designs on there to reflect WCU,” said Dr. Gehrig
Students have been very interested in SPOT and learning all about the robot dog.
“Everyone wants to see the robot dog. There’s even a few dogs on campus that have run up and been interested in SPOT. Some very happy to see him. Some very afraid to see him,” said Borrelli.
On the College of Engineering and Technology’s Facebook page, a contest was held on Aug. 26 to give SPOT a name. From this contest, the official name of SPOT became Catabot.
Next time you are on campus and see the Catabot the College of Engineering and Technology say do not hesitate to stop and say hello!
