Boston Dynamics' warehouse robot Strentch is here to challenge moving 800 boxes per hour

Author | Yang Li

According to Leifeng.com, Boston Dynamics is famous for its robot dog Spot and bipedal humanoid robot Atlas. However, in recent years, the company has begun to focus on the logistics field and recently released a new warehouse logistics robot called Strentch.

Compared to the cool design of Spot and Atlas, Stretch looks relatively dull. It does not imitate humans or animals, but aims to be as practical as possible. Stretch has a square mobile base that contains a set of wheels, a "perception mast" with cameras and other sensors, a huge robotic arm with seven degrees of freedom, and an array of suction cups at the end that can grab and move boxes weighing up to 23 kilograms.

Overall, one of Stretch’s outstanding features is its mobility. Usually, when automated equipment is installed in a warehouse, the system repeats a set of actions according to a pattern. But Stretch can move to any workplace where there may be loading and unloading of goods.

This means that Stretch can provide services for environments without automated infrastructure, including warehouse logistics and distribution centers. "For example, users can use this function to transport goods to a truck loading and unloading location, move to an aisle, or move to the side of a conveyor belt," said Michael Perry, vice president of business development at Boston Dynamics.

Boston Dynamics claims that this robot is mainly aimed at companies that cannot realize automated operations due to high time or investment costs. According to its statistics, about 80% of warehouses in the world do not have any automated equipment, which obviously has considerable potential market space. However, since Stretch has not given a price yet, for those companies with lower profit margins, using robots may not be very cost-effective.

It is worth mentioning that in 2019, Boston Dynamics also acquired Kinema Systems, a company that provides computer vision capabilities for warehouse robots. The integration of this capability also allows Stretch to quickly identify cargo boxes without training. Later, Boston Dynamics also designed a wheeled robot called Handle, which can move boxes using a robotic arm.

Perry said Handle had the "right motion path" for a warehouse environment, but it didn't work fast enough. The robot's arm was attached directly to the main body, which meant the entire machine had to move with each load. Stretch's arm, by contrast, is hidden within its square base, allowing it to rotate freely.

It is reported that this base can withstand the inertia of the arm plus the weight of the swinging box without relying on the weight of thousands of pounds of steel plates fixed to the ground.

At the same time, Stretch also inherits some of the advantages of Atlas. The robot can maintain balance, and can then move, jump, and even do backflips smoothly. "Atlas's action of picking up a box is not just about stretching out its arms and moving, but also about coordinating its hips, legs, and torso. This design concept is actually integrated into Stretch."

As a result, Boston Dynamics says Stretch can move 800 boxes per hour, a throughput rate comparable to that of humans, while the high-capacity battery means Stretch can work for up to eight hours at a time and continue to charge.

However, there are still some doubts about this throughput. Because in actual operations, the space often changes a lot, and it is very difficult for robots to work in the warehouse. The amount of goods in the warehouse is not constant every day, which means that the robot's workflow may change every day. And flexibility is usually valued by people. So far, machines have not been able to adapt to these challenges. Because this also requires regularity in the entire warehouse operation, so that machines can adapt more easily.

Boston Dynamics said that there are more than 150,000 Stretch units worldwide and it is currently looking for customers to conduct pilot tests of Stretch, with the goal of launching it on the market in 2022.

Leifeng.com compiled from TheVerge