Stretch robot

Stretch. © Boston Dynamics.

Boston Dynamics walked Spot, its first commercial robot, to the market last year. Now the company has announced another robot for sale, Stretch. It is a working breed that will make itself useful in many companies, as it handles and transports boxes in pick & pack distribution centers. It can unload a truck, de-pallet shipments, move boxes, and assemble orders. Currently at the prototype stage and weighing 1,200 kg, the robot is a wheeled base equipped with a sturdy 7-degree-of-freedom robotic arm capable of lifting a maximum load of 23 kg (50 lbs). A tower called a “perception mast” houses the sensors. Boston Dynamics hopes to deliver its first robots next year. For the record, the Spot quadruped costs around US$ 75,000.

⇨ YouTube, “Introducing Stretch.”

⇨ Ars Technica, Ron Amadeo, “Meet Boston Dynamics’ next commercial robot, Stretch.”

2021-03-29