I, for one, welcome our new warehouse robot underlings

[George K]

Boston Dynamics is best known for its robot dog Spot, a machine designed to work in a range of environments, from offshore oil rigs to deep underground mines. But in recent years, the company has increasingly focused attention on the logistics space, and today is unveiling a new robot with just one application in mind: moving boxes in warehouses.

The robot is called Stretch and looks relatively dull for a Boston Dynamics creation. It’s not modeled after humans or animals, and instead aims to be as practical as possible. It has a square mobile base containing a set of wheels, a “perception mast” with cameras and other sensors, and a huge robotic arm with seven degrees of freedom and a suction pad array on the end that can grab and move boxes up to 23 kilograms (50 lbs) in weight.

Boston Dynamics claims Stretch can move up to 800 cases an hour, a through-put rate that’s comparable to that of a human employee. High-capacity batteries mean Stretch can operate for eight hours at a time before it needs recharging.

[brenda]

Looks like the future to me. May not take long to see it implemented.

[Mik]

I wonder what the plan is to do with all those warehouse workers. They can't all be robot repair guys.

[LuFins Dad]

@mik said in I, for one, welcome our new warehouse robot underlings:

I wonder what the plan is to do with all those warehouse workers. They can't all be robot repair guys.

Coding... I hear it’s the next big thing.

[George K]

@lufins-dad said in I, for one, welcome our new warehouse robot underlings:

Coding... I hear it’s the next big thing.

If you can learn it...

If not, I'm sure you can get a job installing solar panels. I heard someone in the new administration talk about that as well.

[Doctor Phibes]

On the positive side, Phase 3 should allow you to handily defeat the Chinese with an army of terminators.