JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) wants to electrify its entire model line-up by 2030, and the brand says this robotic guard dog called Rover will play a crucial role in this effort.
“Key to JLR’s Reimagine strategy is a continual collaboration with the industry’s brightest minds, developing advanced robotics solutions that work in harmony with our employees for the uncompromising benefit of our clients,” said Gonzalo Ejarque-Rinaldini, PhD Automation and Robotics at JLR.
Tasked with patrolling JLR’s EV build and test facility in Coventry, Rover doesn’t get distracted and is programmed to follow a range of pre-set routes, conduct up to 24 patrols each day and night (with little rest), and use AI to open doors, ascend stairs, and navigate high-traffic areas. The robot, which Boston Dynamics makes, can also inspect valves and machinery, eliminating the risk of human error.
Most importantly, it’s equipped with sensors to listen for potential gas leaks that humans could not and evaluate battery temperatures quickly with thermal sensors.
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Once it’s done with the job and it’s time to knock off for the day, Rover can return to a purpose-built kennel that charges the 50V battery between shifts. These shifts can last an entire day, and with a number of robots on board, they can patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Enabling our engineers to work safer and smarter, collaborations such as this one with Boston Dynamics are key. Not only are they essential in realising our ambition to electrify our Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar brands by 2030, they also have an important role to play in ensuring that the final vehicles that roll off the line have only the very best EV battery technology within them,” Ejarque-Rinaldini continued.
The brand says they’re open to deploying a fleet of robotic quadrupeds across its entire global industrial footprint. That would include the Solihull plant, where the Ranger Rover Electric will be made next to the secretive all-electric 4-door GT Jaguar that will kick-start the next chapter for that brand as a pure-electric luxury brand for the modern age. This will be the most powerful and sustainable Jaguar ever with a range of 700km, and will be priced from £100,000.
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