Pompeii enlists Spot the robot dog to inspect the ancient city’s streets

Pompeii archaeological park has enlisted a four-legged robotic dog called Spot to inspect the ancient Italian city’s streets and tunnels instead of humans. 

Acting as a robotic guard dog, Spot will patrol Pompeii at nighttime or whenever the site is closed to tourists, providing a live feed for human officials situated off-site. 

Part of Spot’s job is to investigate tunnels dug by illegal relic hunters, which are causing structural issues but would be dangerous or too tight for officials to access safely. 

Spot, which is the product of US firm Boston Dynamics, is using its cameras and sensors to provide a feed of hard-to-reach Pompeii structures.  

It’s capable of inspecting ‘even the smallest of spaces’, gathering and recording data useful for planning interventions to fix safety and structural issues.

Spot, which is suited for indoor or outdoor use, can map its environment, sense and avoid obstacles, climb stairs and open doors

Today, the ruins of Pompeii are a popular tourist attraction, drawing a million visitors a year. Located on the west coast of Italy, Vesuvius is the only active volcano in continental Europe

Pompeii is an ancient city that was buried under volcanic ash and pumice by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. 

Today, its archaeological ruins cover around 440,000 square meters, but they face degradation from natural forces and human activity.  

It’s unclear what all the structural issues are that Spot is looking for, although one is related to the tunnels dug by illegal relic hunters. MailOnline has contacted Pompeii archaeological park for more information.  

‘We wish to test the use of these robots in the underground tunnels that were made by illegal excavators and which we are uncovering in the area around Pompeii,’ said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii archaeological park.

‘Often the safety conditions within the tunnels dug by grave robbers are extremely precarious, as a consequence of which the use of a robot could signify a breakthrough that would allow us to proceed with greater speed and in total safety.’

Spot, which is suited for indoor or outdoor use, can map its environment, sense and avoid obstacles, climb stairs and open doors. 

It can undertake hazardous tasks in a variety of inhospitable environments such as nuclear plants, offshore oil fields and construction sites.    

Spot isn’t the only cutting-edge technology in use in Pompeii. 

Pompeii archaeological park is also using Leica BLK2FLY, a flying laser scanner capable of autonomously conducting 3D scans.   

Spot can undertake hazardous tasks in a variety of inhospitable environments such as nuclear plants, offshore oil fields and construction sites

Spot will also investigate tunnels dug by illegal relic hunters, which would be dangerous for officials to access

Today, Pompeii’s archaeological ruins cover around 440,000 square meters, but they face degradation from natural forces and human activity, such as illegal digging

Spot the robot dog was announced by Boston Dynamics back in 2016 but was under development for years before being released in June 2020 for a whopping $75,000 (about £60,000).  

Spot can be used for a range of heavy duty applications, including inspecting rocket launch test sites, as demonstrated by SpaceX. 

It’s also being deployed in the French army, helping military school personnel to complete training scenarios.  

Spot has specifically been designed for business use – in fact, when a business buys a Spot unit, they have to acknowledge a stipulation in the terms and conditions that ‘it’s not certified safe for in-home use or intended for use near children’. 

Pompeii, the preserved ancient Roman city, Italy, is situated 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Naples

Spot was announced by Boston Dynamics back in 2016 and underwent various trials before being released commercially on June 17, 2020 

However, Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert previously said that Spot will soon be available for home use. 

‘We also have a project that I’m sure many of you are going to be very interested in, and that’s cleaning up your house,’ he said in 2020. 

‘Now, Spot isn’t available yet for home use, but someday it will be. 

‘I think you’re going to love the idea that the robot can be put in a room and use its vision system to identify your kids’ clothing that’s been lying around.’  

The robot dog is also routinely featured in Boston Dynamics promotional videos dancing to musical numbers, such as ‘Uptown Funk’.

Last year, Spot even challenged K-pop boy band BTS to a dance-off.