BMW Introduces SpOTTO, a 'Mechanical Sniffer Dog' in UK Factory

TapTechNews May 27th news, recently, the engine factory of BMW located in Hams Hall, UK, has introduced a mechanical sniffer dog named SpOTTO to help detect problems on the production line.

This reminds people of the creepy mechanical hound in Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451. However, the SpOTTO introduced by BMW this time doesn't have the violent functions of the mechanical hound in the novel. SpOTTO is manufactured by Boston Dynamics.

The name SpOTTO comes from the two Ottos - one of them, Gustav Otto, is one of the co-founders of BMW, and the other, Nicholas Otto, is the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine. SpOTTO will become a member of the Hams Hall factory, which produces 400,000 BMW and MINI TwinPower turbocharged engines annually in the central region of England. The role of SpOTTO is to help the factory discover potential problems and ensure the smooth progress of production.

According to TapTechNews, SpOTTO can detect problems such as overheated machines and compressed air leaks through visual, thermal imaging, and sound sensors. These problems, if not discovered in time, may lead to factory shutdowns or low efficiency.

SpOTTO can also climb stairs and collect data for the digital twin of BMW's Hams Hall factory. In the future, it may also take on more tasks, such as reading analog control device data.