How to run autonomous inspections with a ROS 2 quadruped
Which ROS 2 quadrupeds support autonomous inspection, what the DIY stack involves, and how to go from unboxing to scheduled inspection missions in the browser.
OLO Robotics Team · · 7 min read
Capable quadrupeds are now affordable enough that facilities teams, inspection contractors, and operations groups buy them alongside research labs. The hardware is ready for routine rounds: stairs, grating, and rough ground are solved problems. What the box does not include is the software layer that turns a remote-controlled robot dog into an autonomous inspector following a repeatable route and recording what it finds. This guide covers what you need to get started: the right hardware variant, the software options, and the practical path to a first autonomous mission.
Which quadrupeds can run autonomous inspections?
Manufacturers segment their ranges by how much access you get to the robot. Consumer models are driven from a phone app and do not expose the interfaces autonomous work needs. For inspection you want a variant with SDK access and ROS 2 support: the interfaces that let mission software drive navigation, read sensors, and capture data at waypoints.
The details vary by brand, but the pattern is the same across the market:
- Developer and Edu models: the usual choice for research and production deployments, with full SDK and ROS 2 support for secondary development.
- Enterprise variants: configured around inspection payloads such as gas detection and pan-tilt-zoom camera modules, with the same programmatic access.
- Wheel-legged hybrids: wheeled quadrupeds suited to mixed-terrain patrols where distance on flat ground matters as much as stair climbing; see our wheeled quadruped inspection guide.
DEEP Robotics, Unitree, Boston Dynamics Spot, and other ROS 2-capable quadrupeds follow this split. Before you buy, confirm the exact SKU exposes SDK and ROS 2 interfaces, not just teleoperation from a manufacturer app.
Option 1: build your own ROS 2 inspection stack
The open-source route is well trodden and genuinely good, if you have robotics engineering capacity. A typical DIY stack combines the manufacturer's ROS 2 driver with Nav2 for navigation, a SLAM package such as RTAB-Map for mapping, and custom nodes for detection and reporting. Public projects show what is achievable: community stacks pair quadrupeds with LiDAR odometry, terrain analysis, GPU-accelerated planners, and even automated report generation.
The honest costs are time and maintenance. You are integrating, tuning, and owning a distributed system: drivers break with firmware updates, SLAM needs per-site tuning, and the "boring" parts (scheduling, data management, dashboards your operations team can actually use) are usually the last to be built and the first to be missed. For a research group this is the point; for an operations team it is a detour.
Option 2: use an inspection platform
The platform route treats the quadruped as what it is to your business: a data-collection vehicle. OLO supports ROS 2 quadrupeds natively (established integrations with DEEP Robotics and Unitree models, not one-off projects), with the robot-side Appliance joining the robot's ROS 2 environment and linking it to the browser Portal: visualisation, teleoperation, mission configuration, and a scripting playground, with nothing installed on your team's machines. The inspection workflow is the same five steps on every site:
- Simulate: import a 3D model of your environment and trial the inspection virtually before the robot moves.
- Map: generate a live SLAM map of the real site with the OLO visualiser.
- Configure: place waypoints, set the action at each stop (photo, thermal capture, sensor reading), and lay out the dashboard.
- Deploy: schedule the mission; the quadruped walks the route autonomously.
- Analyse: review live feeds and the complete, timestamped ROSBag recording of every run.
Most sites run their first autonomous route within half a day. Enterprise plans start at £175 per seat per month, and a free personal plan lets you evaluate the workflow in simulation before the robot is even delivered.
DIY stack vs OLO: an honest comparison
| DIY ROS 2 stack | OLO Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Suitable for |
|
|
| Time to first mission | Weeks to months, depending on experience | Half a day on site* |
| Upfront cost |
|
|
| Software maintenance |
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| Flexibility | Unlimited, based on your team's ROS 2 capabilities | Portal workflow, plus typed Python/TypeScript SDKs when you need custom logic |
*Based on average time to connect and run the OLO platform in a workspace. We also offer more in-depth consultation services; see Catalyst for more information.
**Assuming freely available open-source software is used.
Payloads and the data you get back
Inspection value lives in the payload data. Anything that publishes over ROS 2 can be captured at each waypoint: pan-tilt-zoom cameras, thermal imagers, and gas sensors are the common set on quadrupeds. Because the route and camera positions repeat exactly, readings are comparable between runs: the same gauge from the same angle, every time, with everything timestamped in the run's ROSBag recording.
Getting started checklist
- Choose a quadruped variant with SDK and ROS 2 access (developer or enterprise).
- Confirm the payloads your inspections need (visual, thermal, gas).
- Get a 3D model of your site (CAD or a scan) for simulation.
- Decide DIY vs platform. If platform, tell us the model and use case and we will show your inspection running in simulation first.
For the broader picture of what quadruped mission software should do, see our guide to routine automated security patrols.