Drives & Controls May 2022

n TECHNOLOGY BOSTON DYNAMICS HAS announced that its autonomous box-shifting robot called Stretch is now commercially available. The robot, designed to automate loading processes in warehouses and distribution centres, is sold out for 2022, and the company is now taking orders for delivery in 2023 and 2024. Following the unveiling of the robot a year ago, it has been pilot-tested by users including Gap, H&M and DHL Supply Chain – the contract logistics arm of Deutsche Post DHL – which has placed a $15m order to equip its warehouses in North America with the robots over the coming three years. They will tackle several tasks, starting with unloading trucks, before taking on additional duties, effectively automating DHL’s warehousing operations. Stretch is a wheeled box-moving robot that can unload packages weighing up to 23kg from trailers and containers and move them to another location where it can stack them. With a footprint the size of a pallet, the robot can manoeuvre in any direction in and out of trucks and tight warehouse spaces. The lightweight robot arm has seven degrees of freedom. It is equipped with adaptive vacuum grippers and a vision system that allows it to identify boxes without any pre-programming. The robot can handle a wide range of package types and sizes. It can work autonomously in complex situations, such as with disordered stacks, and can recover any packages that shift or fall. The scalable system can be installed and ready to work in a few days. The robot does not require pre- programming of SKU numbers or information on box sizes. It makes all unloading decisions in real time, without supervision. It can work for more than a full shift on one charge, or up to 16 hours with an optional high-capacity battery. “Labour shortages and supply chain snags continue to create challenges in keeping the flow of goods moving,” says Boston Dynamics CEO, Robert Playter. “Stretch makes logistics operations more efficient and predictable, and it improves safety by taking on one of the most physically demanding jobs in the warehouse. Many of our early adopter customers have already committed to deploying the robot at scale, so we are excited Stretch will soon be put to work more broadly, helping retailers and logistics companies handle the continued surging demand for goods.” www.bostondynamics.com Boston Dynamics’ box-shifting robot in DHL livery Stretch, Boston Dynamics’ box-shifting robot, goes on sale