# Spot at M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset: deployment

Canonical ID: `691e753d-eaf4-482a-822d-d0663e7082d7`

As reported in February 2024, National Highways, with BAM Ritchies and AECOM, was trialling [Boston Dynamics Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md) fitted with cameras and a Leica [lidar](/glossary/lidar.md) tracker for geotechnical surveys of embankments, slopes, culverts and areas under bridges. The first live trial was on the M5 in [Somerset](/locations/somerset-new-jersey.md), near the St Georges railway bridge between junctions 20 and 21. National Highways said it aims to use the robot through contractors in future survey work.

## Key facts

- **Country:** [United Kingdom](/locations/united-kingdom-3.md)
- **Sector:** Public infrastructure (strategic road network)
- **Operator:** National Highways, with BAM Ritchies and AECOM
- **Tasks:** Geotechnical surveys, visual inspection of ground defects
- **Scale:** [Not disclosed](/companies/not-disclosed.md)

**Trust tier:** Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verified

_Last updated: 2026-10-31_

- **Slug:** spot-national-highways-m5-somerset-uk
- **Status:** pilot
- **Model:** [Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md) (id: `223bb4ff-a2d7-4afd-825d-f6b15c34afa9`)
- **Category:** [Quadrupeds](/quadrupeds)
- **Company:** [Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md) (id: `e07a6384-c6a0-4a69-8abe-7fcea11bc302`)
- **Location:** [M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset](/locations/united-kingdom/m5-st-georges-bridge-somerset-uk.md) (id: `177d81d6-01ee-401a-8d7d-c6f684af897f`)
- **First seen:** 2024-02-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Verification log (0, append-only)

_No verifications recorded._

## Sources (1)

1. **Robotic dog used to hunt down geotechnical surveys** · https://www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk/Robotic-dog-used-to-hunt-down-geotechnical-surveys/13750 · 2024-02-16

## Common questions

### What is the Spot deployment at M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset?

[Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md), built by [Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md), is recorded as a deployment at [M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset](/locations/m5-st-georges-bridge-somerset-uk.md) on the DEPLOY registry. [Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md) operates the deployment directly.

### Who operates Spot at M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset?

[Boston Dynamics](/companies/boston-dynamics.md), the manufacturer of [Spot](/models/boston-dynamics-spot.md), operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

### When did the Spot deployment at M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting February 16, 2024 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

### Have there been incidents at the Spot deployment at M5 junctions 20 to 21 (St George's railway bridge), Somerset?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.


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