28 n LOGISTICS ROBOTS November/December 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com Wheeled robot helps Hermes to unload boxes from containers A ful lment centre in Germany operated by the giant parcel and delivery company, Hermes, is using a wheeled robot to unload packages autonomously from trailers and shipping containers, and onto a conveyor system. The robot – a Stretch machine from Boston Dynamics – can unload around 500 packages per hour, each weighing up to 23kg. The application, at Hermes’Haldensleben centre, is the rst time that Stretch has been deployed commercially in Europe. Last year, Hermes’parent, the Otto Group, announced a strategic partnership with Boston Dynamics under which it plans to deploy the case-handling robot at more than 20 sites by 2025 (as well as letting its Spot robot dog roam more than 10 sites to perform inspections). The initiative marks the rst large-scale deployment of both types of robots by the same business. The Otto Group is a €16bn e-commerce and logistics conglomerate with 100 companies – including Crate and Barrel, and Bonprix, as well as Hermes – operating in 30 countries. It also operates one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in Germany. The Stretch robot moves on a wheels and has a single arm with seven independent joints (degrees of freedom). A smart gripper on the end of the arm uses vacuum suction cups to grasp packages securely. The multiple joints give it the dexterity to move boxes in tight spaces inside containers. The compact wheeled base allows the robot to move inside narrow containers, while an onboard vision system detects where boxes are located in real time so that it can calculate the best way to grip them, and in what order. After an operator drives Stretch into a container and runs a safety check, the robot gets to work. “The operator essentially presses ‘go’ and Stretch begins moving boxes all on its own,” says Boston Dynamics’product manager, Andre Brueckner. The robot rst detects the front layer of boxes, as well as the walls and ceiling of the container. Its arm then grabs the rst box and spins around to place it onto a telescopic conveyor belt that protrudes into the container, while the vision system is already deciding which box to grab next. Because the robot runs on battery power, it is decoupled from any power source. As Stretch advances deeper into the container, it The parcels company Hermes is the rst company in Europe to use a wheeled robot to help it unload boxes from containers onto conveyors. The robot has relieved human workers of an arduous task, especially in summer when the temperatures inside containers can be oppressive. The mobile Stretch robot picks up boxes from inside a container at the Hermes ful lment centre and places them onto a telescopic conveyor, whose position it controls Hermes is using the four-legged Spot robot at three of its sites to collect thermal images, sense vibrations, read analogue gauges, and detect air and gas leaks ultrasonically. Spot’s ability to operate autonomously also provides safety by monitoring re exits and identifying small structural changes in storage racks. “Spot is supporting us with dierent maintenance and security tasks,” says Otto Group project manager, Tomek Pauer. “It improves worker safety, reduces unplanned downtime, and cuts energy costs.”
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