A robot dog called SpOTTO has clocked in for shifts with the team at BMW Group Plant in Hams Hall, UK.

Equipped with visual, thermal and acoustic sensors, SpOTTO scans the plant, supports maintenance and ensures production processes run smoothly.

It also can collect data for the plant’s digital twin.

Klaus von Moltke, SVP of Engine Production at BMW AG said: “Virtualization, automation and artificial intelligence are central pillars of the BMW iFACTORY,”

SpOTTO was created by Boston Dynamics with the product name “Spot” and was renamed SpOTTO at Plant Hams Hall – paying tribute to the heritage of the British engine plant. Gustav Otto was one of the founders of BMW and son of Nicolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine.

In 2023, more than 400,000 engines were produced at Plant Hams Hall, which, alongside SpOTTO, also employs about 1,600 people.

Marco da Silva, Head of Spot Product Development at Boston Dynamics said: “We are proud of the way the robot has been integrated into the plant.”