Skip to main content

Stretch - Boston Dynamics Unveils New Robot for Warehouse Automation

Boston Dynamics is the global leader in mobile robotics. Their popular robots are SpotMini, Spot, Atlas and Handle. Now they has revealed 'Stretch', which is a new box-moving robot designed to support the growing demand for flexible automation solutions in the logistics industry.

A Massachusetts company well known for its humanoid robots and dog-like androids is preparing to muscle its way into the warehouse automation industry with its latest mechatronic solution. Warehouse automation is a fast-growing market fueled by increased demand in e-commerce. The robot called Stretch is Boston Dynamics’ first commercial robot specifically designed for warehouse facilities and distribution centers.

Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics said:

Warehouses are struggling to meet rapidly increasing demand as the world relies more on just-in-time delivery of goods. Mobile robots enable the flexible movement of materials and improve working conditions for employees. Stretch combines Boston Dynamics' advancements in mobility, perception and manipulation to tackle the most challenging, injury-prone case-handling tasks, and we’re excited to see it put to work.

Stretch is designed for the smooth, flat floors of a warehouses. Robot can increase warehouse flow of goods and improve employee safety in physically difficult tasks. Traditional warehouse automation approaches require either installation of fixed infrastructure. Stretch can lower expensive fixed automation costs and it doesn't require costly reconfiguration or investments in new fixed infrastructure. Stretch can unload trucks and build pallets, and it does so quickly and autonomously. Michael Perry, vice president of business development for Boston Dynamics told Reuters:

Stretch is the first robot for one task that the company has built, based on requests received from companies around the world.

 Introducing stretch for truck unloading:

The base size of Stretch is small enough to fit standard and common transport routes in warehouses. The mobile base is omni-directional and allows movement with the ability to navigate around obstacles in loading docks, adapt to changing facility layouts and maneuver in tight spaces. The robot can handle a large variety of boxed and shrink-wrapped cases using its custom-designed lightweight arm and a smart-gripper with advanced sensing and controls. 

7 degrees-of-freedom arm grants long reach and large workspace, allowing the robot to reach cases throughout a truck or pallet. Michael Perry said:
We’re looking at picking up boxes around 50 pounds and our maximum rate of picking up and moving boxes can reach up to 800 cases per hour. So, it’s a fast-moving, highly versatile robot. We heard pretty much universally across warehousing that truck unloading is one of the most physically difficult and unpleasant jobs … And that’s where Stretch comes into play.


Boston Dynamics has equipped the robot with computer vision technology that allows easy identification of boxes. Its vision system works in tandem with pick & place activity, enabling high pick rates. Stretch can pull additional equipment behind it and use it when needed. The cooperation with transport system based on roller conveyors makes the robot almost independent mechatronic system. Boston Dynamics is currently seeking customers to pilot test deployment of Stretch with truck unloading tasks ahead of its commercial deployment in 2022.

Comments

Anonymous said…
we have come to the future now...
TRIT said…
The future is now old man ;)

You might also like

    Popular posts

    What is Mechatronics?

    Mechatronics definition Mechatronics is a synergistic combination of precision engineering, electronic control and mechanic systems. It is the science, that exists at the interface among the other five disciplines: mechanics, electronics, informatics, automation, robotics. It is one of the most dynamically developing fields of technology and science. The word 'mechatronics' appeared for the first time in Japan in 1969. mechatronics = mecha nics + elec tronics + computing

    Intro to Mechatronics [e-book pdf]

    Intro to Mechatronics - lecture by Professor Vikram Kapila, New York University Mechatronics Defined Mechatronics: Working Definition for us Product Realization Paradigm Disciplinary Foundations of Mechatronics Multi-/Cross-/Inter-Disciplinary Sequential/Concurrent Product Realization Mechatronics-based Product Realization Mechatronic Design Process

    Ascento - The Two-Wheeled Jumping Robot

    All-terrain capabilities are required to extend beyond flat surfaces the application range of wheeled robots. First think is four or six-legged robots which have been well known for years. Nowadays, thanks to more and more perfect gait algorithms, the two-legged (bipedal) robots appears more and more often. ETH Zürich students combine the advantages of wheeled robot and two-legged robot.

    Smart Home Makes Your Life Easier

    Smart homes are also called intelligent, automated or autonomous houses. Nowadays, you can also automate the flats. Dynamic development of automation technology gives you opportunities that were only seen in sci-fi movies in the past. Soon, probably only your imagination will be the limit. What gives us the smart home system?

    How 6-Axis Industrial Robots Work

    6-axis industrial robots are commonly used in the manufacturing industry due to their flexibility, powerful programming software, payload capacities ranging from 5kg up to 1000kg and accuracy to 0.1mm or better. Here is a basic breakdown of how a standard 6-axis robot works. The way it rotates, how it is programmed, and the different types of tooling and grippers.

    How Automated Parking System Works

    An automated car parking system is a mechatronic system designed to transport and park cars automatically. The first semi-automated parking system was used in Paris, France in 1905 at the Garage Rue de Ponthieu (the car was transported to selected level using an internal elevator and the vehicle was parked by attendants). An automated storage and retrieval system for cars is a solution to cities' parking problems, such as the space wasting in a multi-story parking.

    DIY Low Cost 6-Axis Desktop Robot

    Learning how to build a robot is a long way. It is the way by mechanics, electronics and programming. Such a mechatronics project is associated with problems such as stiffness (mechanics), overvoltage (electronics) or bug (software). Of course, if something is wrong, we always say 'it's not a bug, it's a feature', but finally a robot has to start working properly.

    Mechatronic Systems Applications [e-book pdf]

    Mechatronics is the synergistic blend of mechanics, electronics, and computer science. This book is concerned with applications of mechatronic systems in various fields, like robotics, medical and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, unmanned vehicles, manufacturing, and education.