See the Boston Dynamics robot dog playing skipping rope and picking up dirty clothes

They dance. They explore mines. They help medical workers. Boston Dynamics Spot robot dogs are constantly learning new tricks and now have a wide range of new movements, thanks to a robotic arm and a new programming interface.

Boston Dynamics released a video on Monday showing what Spot can do with its robotic arm system. The arm is mounted in front of the robot and is capable of performing some fine motor skills operations, such as digging a hole for a plant and making chalk drawings.

“Now that Spot has an arm, in addition to legs and cameras, it can do mobile manipulation,” said Boston Dynamics. “He finds and collects objects (garbage), tidies up the room, opens doors, activates switches and valves, takes care of the garden and usually has fun.”

Each new Spot video adds to the robot’s impressive skills curriculum. Perhaps the most revealing part of the footage is three Spots playing skipping rope with the robots at each end spinning the rope perfectly in sync with each other.

The basic Spot robot is available with optional add-ons, including a tablet controller and a handle system. The Spot Arm video is a preview of what may come with the launch of a Spot product line expanded by Boston Dynamics on February 2. You can watch the live broadcast of the revelation event starting at 8am PT on Tuesday.

The company promises that it will “extend the value of Spot for autonomous inspection and data collection”.

Don’t be surprised to see more Spots in the jungle. After years of development and testing, Spot finally went on sale in mid-2020 for $ 74,500. Yes, it’s a lot, but did you know that you can jump rope?

See too: The best robot vacuum cleaners for 2021: iRobot Roomba, Eufy, Electrolux, Neato and more