When you think of Boston Dynamics, you might think of the company’s robots like Spot. However, the company is expanding on the types of robots they are offering where it seems that they have expanded to industrial robots, one of which is called Stretch that can be used in places like warehouses.
Unlike Spot, Stretch seems like a rather “normal” looking robot, but it is an extremely practical robot. This is because Stretch is capable of moving boxes around a warehouse up to 23kg in weight, and according to the company, is also capable of moving as many as 800 boxes an hour which could be useful in warehouses that experience a lot of traffic.
Also unlike more traditional industrial robots that are big and tend to be bolted into place, Stretch has been designed to be mobile where it can be moved around. This means that if a company has a warehouse that isn’t particularly big but they would like robotic automation, Stretch could be the solution. It also makes it relatively more affordable, which once again might be appealing to smaller companies who can’t afford larger robots.
According to Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics, “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.”