It’s a scene straight out of a science fiction show: robot dogs. Think K9 from the sci-fi series Doctor Who, or Goddard from the cartoon Jimmy Neutron.
Now, robot dogs are standing guard for tech companies, patrolling the massive data centers across the country that power AI operations, according to Business Insider. These four-legged robots, known as quadrupeds, are in high demand from AI firms, according to robotics company Boston Dynamics, which manufactures a quadruped called Spot. These systems are able to navigate complex landscapes on their own, alert authorities about security threats, and can provide around-the-clock video surveillance.
“We’ve seen a huge, huge uptick in interest from data centers in the last year,” Merry Frayne, senior director of product management at Boston Dynamics, told Business Insider, “which is probably not surprising given the investment in that space.”
Companies are pouring nearly $700 billion into the AI infrastructure buildout, a sum that rivals the GDP of developed countries like Sweden. And some data centers are the size of multiple football fields. One data center—Meta’s Hyperion—will sprawl out to about four times the size of Manhattan’s Central Park. Aside from requiring loads of energy and millions of gallons of water, the vast size of the data centers means the cost of security to protect their around-the-clock operations is inspiring some firms to look to alternative security resources.
According to Frayne, Spot’s pricing ranges from $175,000 to $300,000, depending on their client’s needs. But despite that high price, the company estimates that the quadrupeds would compensate for their cost within two years.
The robot dogs are actually capable of doing more than just perimeter patrol. Frayne told Business Insider data center customers are looking for the quadrupeds to conduct industrial inspection, site mapping, and construction monitoring. These tasks could help facility managers to more easily detect hazards, such as puddles or leaks. Boston Dynamics says Spot has “360° perception and athletic intelligence.”
Quadrupeds like Spot have actually existed for some time now, assuming roles in public safety and law enforcement. Another robotics company—Ghost Robotics—advertises quadrupeds as a business solution for construction sites to streamline inspections and enhance safety monitoring. The company also advertises the robots for reconnaissance, intelligence, and surveillance use by the military.
Forget the age of AI—the dawn of the robotics era
Some tech leaders predict the AI revolution could usher in a new era of robotics, with some predicting they’ll soon outnumber humans. The current state of robotics is a bit far off from that reality. A Deloitte research report titled “AI for industrial robotics, humanoid robots, and drones” found that annual sales of new industrial robots have remained flat since 2021, at roughly 500,000 units.
But their longer-term projection suggests massive growth in the future, with robot shipments doubling to 1 million by 2030 and revenues of $21 billion. That prediction jumps to $5 trillion by 2050.
In a recent interview with Fortune, Zak Kidd, founder of AI company AskHumans—which has been used by organizations like the World Bank and Fidelity—said that while AI threatens white-collar work, robots could one day poach jobs that require physical labor.
“I see AI as an augmentation of knowledge work,” he said. “But I see robotics, humanoid robotics, as a replacement for manual work.”
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