The four-legged Boston Dynamics robot that became an internet star when it featured in a series of viral videos is set to go on sale next year.
US-based robotics company Boston Dynamics announced the semi-autonomous SpotMini is scheduled to go into production in mid-2019.
The robot caused a stir online earlier this year when videos showed it navigating offices, climbing stairs, opening doors and even fighting off a human armed with a hockey stick.
Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert announced the robot's production date at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics conference in California last week, saying the SpotMini would be suited to office environments.
"The SpotMini robot, the small quadruped, is one that was motivated by thinking about something that could go in an office, with a more accessible place for business applications, or in a home eventually," said Raibert.
"SpotMini is in preproduction now... We have a plan later this year to build a hundred with contract manufacturers, and that's the prelude to getting them into a higher rate production, which we hope to start about the middle of next year."
Boston Dynamics is currently developing a number of apps for the SpotMini that would enable it to be used for surveillance or construction. The company will also invite third parties to develop their own applications.
The 30-kilogram robot, a smaller version of the earlier Spot model, can pick up and carry a payload of up to 14 kilograms in its optional arm attachment.
SpotMini can be operated with a controller or can move autonomously through environments it has mapped with its suite of cameras and sensors.
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