Boston Dynamics Debuts Stretch Gen 2 to Reduce Warehouse Downtime

Boston Dynamics has introduced 'Stretch Gen 2,' an autonomous trailer-unloading robot, which aims to lower unplanned downtime and accelerate maintenance in high-volume logistics environments.

The redesign according to the company is based on more than 100,000 hours of operation and tens of millions of boxes unloaded by the first-generation Stretch. It says, engineers leveraged that data to identify the most common reasons for failure and create a more robust design.

According to Boston Dynamics, the new robot can unload 1,000 cases an hour. However, case size, case weight, case packing density and other variables can also affect throughput. The multipick ability enables its use in series to reach maximum throughput.

Hardware modifications involve automotive-grade connectors to tolerate vibration when rapidly moving boxes and vibrating floors. An improved gripper has new valve systems and higher-resolution sensing to make grasping and placement more accurate.

Boston Dynamics has also added joints that rotate continuously beyond 360 degrees, without hit stops that used to cause stresses on parts and joints. The firm said it also removed wiring and cut internal cabling by 81%, by approximately half a mile, to lower electrical faults and wear.

Alterations to the outside solve issues related to boxes falling. The emergency stop button is now located below the panel. The panels have new material that minimizes the damage from spills and safety stops.

" Our customers rely on Stretch to keep the freight moving,' said Brian Donnelly, Vice President and General manager of logistics robotics at Boston Dynamics.

The fix was to address servicing times. Replacing the entire swerve drive is now about an hour versus a day in the past according to Boston Dynamics. Standard high-strength fasteners eliminate excessive tool changes and the loss of all that dynamic cable and complicated wiring harnesses for easier servicing.

New onboard diagnostics and maintenance aids will enable customers' own maintenance crews to take on more of the day-to-day work.

Stretch Gen 2 also features a new onboard computer platform. Software updates will continuously improve case detection, motion planning, picking strategies and the perception model for the robot across deployments without adding hardware, the company added.

The battery's theoretically good for two shifts, though a fast charger is able to get it to 90% in around 75 mins. There's onboard lighting for working inside dark trailers, and Boston says its pretrained vision system will be able to pick up the majority of packages from the jump, no programming required.