Spot Robot Staffing Augmentation at Los Alamos
National Laboratory

The Process Modeling & Analysis Group (E-2) at Los Alamos National Laboratory has completed a feasibility study and proof-of-concept testing of the Boston Dynamics Spot quadruped robot for use in staff augmentation of tedious, dangerous, or high precision tasks. The immediate focus of this project is to provide systems capable of autonomously performing radiation surveys throughout the laboratory’s nuclear facilities. It has progressed to working on the final implementation to perform radiation surveys for nuclear material delivery trucks. Prototype functionality is also being produced to perform object, general area, and facility floor radiation surveys. Augmenting these tasks will allow staff to better focus on core missions and increase productivity throughout the laboratory. Multiple Universities have also been engaged to aid in future Spot implementation research and development work. Spot continues to visit many local schools and science fairs to encourage student interest in Science Technology Engineering and Math disciplines. These events are interactive, allowing students and the public to operate the robots and gain a better understanding of their capabilities. The paper will also outline additional use-cases being pursued including for emergency response and nuclear material inspection. Finally, we will conclude with the path forward at Los Alamos National Laboratory and other potential future work.