LOGISTICS ROBOTS n communicates wirelessly with the telescopic conveyor, telling it to extend to follow it in – or reverse out – as needed. “The robot is communicating automatically with the conveyor belts,” Brueckner explains. “That means that as Stretch pulls forward, the conveyor belt also pulls forward. If Stretch has to pull backward for any reason, the conveyor belt will also move backward automatically.” One capability required for the Hermes application was for the robot to place boxes on the conveyor with their shipping labels facing sideways, allowing scanners to read them. “This is important because basically the entire line upstream is automated and there are scanners that rely on the boxes being placed this way,”explains Boston Dynamics project engineer, JoJo Winsor. The robot has been designed to handle a variety of cases. As well as picking boxes from their front surface or top, it can pick boxes from their side, allowing the gripper to get more suction cups onto the largest surface area available, and to handle heavy cases more easily. “Stretch is able to calculate which side is the most optimal to make a stable pick and stable placement,”Winsor explains. The robot “can pretty much handle any type of cardboard container, boxes with graphics on them, boxes of dierent colours, boxes with some level of damage – or bulging even,”she adds. “It can handle some of the heavier cases on the high end of what a one-person lift would be.” The robot uses lidar (light detection and ranging) to create a virtual “fence” on either side of the conveyor. If anyone crosses this line, it stops immediately to avoid potential injuries. “That creates a safe interface between Stretch and the people who are working in the warehouse,” says Winsor. Child’s play Hermes employee Marcel Günther, who processes inbound freight for the company, says that learning how to operate Stretch was child’s play. He was impressed that a robot of this size can handle packages so delicately. “Learning Stretch was fairly simple and easy for any techsavvy person to operate,” he reports. “Stretch handles the boxes as any normal person would, with the same care and sensitivity.” Günther adds that Stretch is also a tremendous benet when the volume of inbound parcels uctuates – at Christmas, for example – and Hermes may have to scale up the unloading process at short notice. “It’s like a second man for us,”he says. Stretch also avoids employees having to work in tough conditions, especially during summer months when metal shipping containers can become extremely hot. Stretch can work in hot or cold extremes for extended periods. “Health and workplace safety is a real focus,” says Brueckner. “Keeping operators out of the dark, the cold, and hot containers is important.” It took less than a week to commission the robot at the Hermes site. It typically takes two days to certify sta to work with their new mechanical colleague. “The operators have all been really engaged and really excited to work with the robot,” Brueckner reports. Stretch is helping the Hermes logistics centre to maintain high safety standards in accordance with German national standards, as well as EU directives regarding occupational safety and health in the workplace. Tomek Pauer, a project manager in the Otto Group’s supply chain management arm, says that the robot is tackling the gruelling job of moving heavy cases so that employees can take on more valuable tasks. “Stretch really supports us in a very labourintensive process in the warehouse,”he adds. “The adaptability of Stretch to our boxes and our processes has been very impressive so far. “The Otto Group is actively shaping the future of logistics, and being the rst company to implement Stretch in our warehouse proves that we are on the right path,”Pauer says. He and his team are planning additional tasks for both Spot and Stretch in the near future. n best t the G orque motor Get an edge in the mark with r ket up to 120% hi ONTINUOUS UN C D COMPACTN NPARALLELE q ion. previous generat er than E gh S S TO S RQU NES can perform EVE C MAX T i 100%d di ETEL rmerly unreachable operatin PEED m in fo S NAT HIGH co E uld reduce footprint by up to h l d di d i ng p wo sizes. oints. o tw d f li O id i i d ETEL Torque Mo HE buted in the UK by are distri motion controllers a ETEL is 100% dedic tors a T: 01444 • DENHAIN (GB) TD. igh-end motion system pro EI d h ology. to direct drive techn an ated L sales@heidenhain.co.u • 247711 oducts provides a portfolio to m Our wide range of linear and to www.etel.ch k eet your needs. orque motors, position and
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