Boston Dynamics releases software updates to Orbit fleet management platform, Spot robots

Boston Dynamics announced the latest software update for its Spot robot dog and Orbit fleet management platform.

According to the company, update 5.0 will allow customers to “see your facility like never before.”

AI for the factory floor

Boston Dynamics said that Spot acts as the eyes and ears - automating inspections, capturing repeatable data and logging everything digitally whereas Orbit - the intelligent automation platform for Boston Dynamics robots - is where it all comes together.

The latest release of Orbit unlocks insights from maintenance and beyond, helping customers understand the full health of their operations. It also includes capabilities for enterprise-grade scale, so customers can easily deploy and manage the fleet across multiple sites.

As companies look to close workforce gaps and boost efficiency, smarter tools are stepping up. As part of the update, Boston Dynamics said it is bringing the power of AI to the factory floor with new visual inspection capabilities in Orbit.

Now, Spot can autonomously patrol a facility and snap images at points of interest. Then, Orbit analyzes them using pre-programmed vision-language prompts. The platform can instantly flag safety issues like spills or missing fire extinguishers, check pallet status, monitor equipment wear and tear, and more.

Orbit transforms the images Spot captures into actionable insights - whether it’s looking for simple yes/no answers, numeric readings, percentages or descriptive text. Boston Dynamics said this is a new level of visual data collection that’s driven by AI and designed for real operations.

Remote plant walk-throughs

Creating and maintaining a full digital twin is often time-consuming and expensive - especially when customers only need a lightweight visual record of a facility over time.

Now, Boston Dynamics has introduced Site View in Orbit: a clear visual facility history powered by 360° images captured by Spot. With Site View, you can monitor conditions remotely, review past states and gain valuable insights - without ever stepping on-site.

The company said users can easily convert any of Spot’s missions into Site View missions to start building a visual catalog right away. Users can even create new inspections directly from Site View imagery.

Enterprise-grade scale and security

Other new features included in this update include:

• Protect privacy with automated face blurring
  • Orbit now offers built-in face blurring to help safeguard privacy. When enabled, this feature automatically detects and obscures faces in images captured by Spot Cam+IR - including both PTZ and Site View formats - by covering them with black boxes. Companies can stay compliant and protect individual privacy without adding extra steps to workflows.
• Orbit for enterprise
  • Scaling a robotic fleet across multiple facilities? Boston Dynamics said Orbit makes it simple to manage operations at scale. Enterprise users now have access to centralized dashboards that aggregate data from all sites - giving customers a unified view of robot activity, site performance and fleet health. Monitor everything from a single platform and make smarter, faster decisions across an organization.
• Flexible user permissions
  • Managing multiple users in Orbit is now easier. Customers can now customize access levels based on each user’s role or responsibilities - granting tailored permissions for data, missions, settings and more. Maintain control, enhance security and ensure everyone has access to exactly what they need.
• Streamlined software updates
  • Keep Spot current by using Orbit to deliver updates over the air. Once a robot and Orbit are both upgraded to 5.0 or later, customers can deploy future updates by bundling robot and payload software in Orbit, and delivering the bundle as an over-the-air update. Users can maintain multiple bundles to support different robot configurations and software versions and deploy a bundle to any number of robots simultaneously.
• Orbit virtual machine
  • Deploy Orbit on your server for greater control, flexibility and scalability. Whether you prefer a cloud-based setup or an on-premise offering, Orbit adapts to infrastructure needs.

Easier Spot and Orbit integration

Boston Dynamics also announced updated integration features as part of the new software release, including:

• Codeless work order integration:
  • Orbit has several options for integrating with third-party systems via APIs and webhooks. This release adds a low-code option for automated work order generation, available to beta users. Interested users should contact Boston Dynamics Sales for more information.
• Auto Thermal Thresholds
  • Orbit now supports dynamic thresholding for thermal inspections, automatically flagging anomalous temperature readings. By performing statistical analysis across multiple samples, Orbit sets intelligent minimum and maximum thresholds - reducing reliance on domain experts to define safe operating ranges for industrial equipment. Streamline inspections and catch issues faster, with less manual setup.