Boston Dynamics’ latest robot moves away from biomimicry to design a practical warehouse solution!

Posted on 29/03/2021 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Thirty years ago, starting out as a tightknit research company, Boston Dynamics began its quest to create robots that could go where people go, do what people do, and move as people move. Today, a leading engineering and robotics design company, the team behind Boston Dynamics continues to produce and deliver commercial robotics equipped with dynamic control, cutting-edge electronics, and next-generation software. Designed for easy rollout servicing in existing warehouses, Stretch is Boston Dynamics’ latest mobile, automated case-handling robot.

In appearance, Stretch resembles an excavator or backhoe construction truck, with a solid, bottom-heavy base and tensile robotic arm. Filled out with four small wheels for tight turning and lots of movement, Stretch’s mobile base is capable of sliding in every direction and designed to allow the fuller robot to fit anywhere a pallet fits. The long robotic arm provides plenty of reach and height with seven degrees-of-freedom, granting Stretch access to cases and shipping goods throughout any freight space or pallet.

At the end of Stretch’s robotic arm, a smart gripper embedded with sensors and active controls grants Stretch with handling mechanisms to grasp a wide array of different types of packages. Keeping the whole operation going throughout the workday are high-capacity batteries and an advanced perception mast for long-lasting, precise, and stable power. Speaking of how Stretch differentiates the currently saturated truck unloading robots, palletizing and depalletizing robots, and mobile bases with arms, Kevin Blankespoor, Boston Dynamics’ VP of Product Engineering and chief engineer for both Handle and Stretch says “Stretch is built with pieces from Spot and Atlas and that gave us a big head start. For example, if you look at Stretch’s vision system, it’s 2D cameras, depth sensors, and software that allows it to do obstacle detection, box detection, and localization. Those are all the same sensors and software that we’ve been using for years on our legged robots. And if you look closely at Stretch’s wrist joints, they’re actually the same as Spot’s hips. They use the same electric motors, the same gearboxes, the same sensors, and they even have the same closed-loop controller controlling the joints.”

While Stretch is still a prototype, the wheeled robot is the commercial version of a smaller, earlier model from Boston Dynamics called Handle. Stretch currently enacts unloading and building applications for trucks and warehouses, with future plans for truck loading in the works for Boston Dynamics. While the team behind Stretch has yet to name a price, Boston Dynamics is working to make the case-handling robot compatible with other warehouse systems.

Designer: Boston Dynamics

Four wheels fill out Stetch’s mobile base, allowing it to fit anywhere a shipping pallet fits.

Smart gripping technology allows Stretch to reach for and take hold of a multitude of varying package types.

Stretch’s lengthy robotic arm grants the robot access to packages throughout the warehouse and full extension for easy rollout.

The team at Boston Dynamic equipped Stretch with seven degrees-of-freedom, providing plenty of reach and height.

Stretch was designed for warehouse case-handling and truck unloading.

This robotic arm uses a trick from the Pixar playbook to appear ‘friendly’

Posted on 17/02/2021 by Sarang Sheth

There’s a brilliant study that outlines how the west and the east feel about robots in day-to-day lives. There’s a sense of awe and appreciation for robots in the east, while in the west, robots are feared because of the threats they pose. These two impressions are directly connected to culture – while Terminator, Skynet, and Black Mirror set an inherent fear of robots into the hearts of westerners, Transformers, Astro Boy, and other pop-cult references made robots feel more awe-inspiring and appealing to the eastern hemisphere.

However, with the rising probability that tech will end up making its way into our lives, designer Joonhyuk Hong believes the best way to promote human + robot coexistence is to make robots seem friendly. Hong uses a trick that self-driving cars have been using from the get-go to appear less threatening. He proposes an anthropomorphic element to the robotic arm to make it more interactive and ‘cute’, allowing it to be perceived less as a threat and more as an aide… something Pixar used to make Wall-E and EVE (and even Baymax) appear more friendly too.

The Emotional Collaborative Robot Concept is a multifunctional robotic arm with a display that acts as the robot’s face. The use of rounded forms and the cute avatar makes the robot look more amicable and less intimidating. The robotic arm’s versatile design allows it to assist humans in multiple tasks, from making your coffee to assisting you with tools in a workshop.

Designer: Joonhyuk Hong

Toyota’s new home-assist robots include a butler who will do the dishes for you!

Posted on 03/10/2020 by Ruchi Thukral

Toyota’s Gantry robot is a real superhero for the elderly, but instead of fighting local crimes, he does house chores for them. Designed for the aging demographic that is often forgotten when it comes to technological advancements, this robot will take care of the domestic duties while sometimes hanging from the ceiling! People over the age of 65 make up for the world’s fastest-growing age group and we need more resources to give them the aid they require.

Speaking about the capabilities of robots, Russ Tedrake of Toyota Research Institue (TRI) says “Unlike the sterile, controlled and programmable environment of the factory, the home is a ‘wild west’ – unstructured and diverse. Despite recent strides in artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is still very hard to engineer a system that can deal with the complexity of a home environment and guarantee that it will (almost) work correctly.” The gantry robot is one of the prototypes being tested in mock-up home environments built-in labs in California. It is able to complete tasks like cleaning and loading the dishwasher. The design of the robot was inspired by the layout of Japanese homes, where researchers found that limited floor space would constrain a robot’s ability to help, and thus the solution would be to have robots directly integrated into the architecture for future homes. “What if instead of needing a robot to navigate the cluttered floor, it could travel on the ceiling instead, and be tucked out of the way when it’s not needed?” said Dan Helmick, co-lead of robotics fleet learning at the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), during a virtual presentation. While it is a huge undertaking to construct new robot-assisted homes from scratch and will have many hurdles, the design has the potential to solve many problems faced by the old folk who live alone.

The dishwashing robot is basically a giant robotic arm which shows new technology instead of being ready for commercial use, someone even pointed out that it looks better suited to build cars than load dishes but there is a long way to go before this product hits the market and there will be many changes made to it before it is ready for sale. This is a full series of robots designed to help senior citizens manage housework and the gantry robot is just one of them. There is another “soft bubble gripper” robot that uses air-filled cushions to gently grab a variety of objects, and a floor-based mobile robot with the same basic capabilities as hanging robot friend. All robots are being trained using virtual reality – real people are performing actions like wiping down a tabletop and then using VR controllers these movements are programmed into the robots.

“The robots that you see today are prototypes to accelerate our research, but they are not going to be turned into products any time soon,” says Max Bajrachary, TRI’s VP of Robotics. Robotics is generally a difficult field and creating robots for household tasks is challenging mainly because every house is so different and therefore the smarter option would be to construct robot-friendly houses with tracks where the residents have the option of installing the gantry robot if needed. Robots can take over my world if they take over my dirty dishes!

Designer: Toyota Research Institute

I skipped breakfast, but Samsung had a robot make me a salad

Posted on 07/01/2020 by Engadget RSS Feed

Normally when I miss breakfast, it's by choice. Today, it was because I was in a rush to get to Samsung's booth on the CES show floor and see if I could get any face time with the company's cute new rolling robot. (That, uh, didn't go so great.) The...

Robo-arms are getting a makeover!

Posted on 02/08/2017 by Troy Turner

mts_robo_1

Component deformation… force transmission… nanotechnology… these are just a few fancy terms for describing this far-out twist on the robotic arm. Until now, gripper arms have only been composed of complex structures and hydraulic motors which are prone to complication. The Magnetic Transformation Structure reimagines the robot and uses an intelligent, unique and globally applicable principle to make things simpler and more precise.

The principle of this structure begins with parallel sequential segments that are arranged on a flexible material. In the center of each segment is a metal core, which allows a magnetic field to be specifically generated via electrical current in each individual segment. The adjacent segments that are magnetized to have like magnetic poles will repel each other. With unlike magnetic poles, they attract each other. Since the segments are bound to the flexible plate only at the base, the magnetic forces generate a torque that naturally bends the plate.

The result is more economical production, faster reaction times as a result of targeted force transmission, uncomplicated deformation of mechanical components and more flexibility than the hydraulic systems this tech aims to replace.

Designer: Emami Design

mts_robo_2

Microsoft’s 3D Touch Screen has Tactile Feedback

Posted on 05/07/2013 by sumayah

Microsoft developed a 3D touch screen. It consists of a liquid crystal display screen. This comes with both force detectors and a robotic arm. By making it move back and forth the robotic extension...

Curiosity rover starts light robotic arm workout in preparation for scientific main event

Posted on 07/09/2012 by Steve Dent

As NASA promised, Curiosity has stopped at the quarter pole toward its first scientific destination to test its robotic arm and attached scientific instruments. After 100 yards of driving, the rover extended its 7-foot limb, and will now spend six to ten days checking its predetermined positions and range of motion. That will ensure the appendage is ready after surviving the chilly vaccuum of space and subsequent setdown, and will let its minders see how it functions in the unfamiliar Martian gravity and temperatures. The JPL scientists in charge of the six-wheeler will also peep the Mars Hand Lens Imager and made-in-Canada Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer to warrant that they're up for all the geology to come. If all goes well, the rover will start scooping, drilling and analyzing in earnest when it hits Glenelg, then Mount Sharp -- so, we'd limber up first before tackling all that, too.

Filed under: Misc, Science

Curiosity rover starts light robotic arm workout in preparation for scientific main event originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Insert Coin: Cardboard Robot brings craning, plucking and learning with a dash of whimsey (video)

Posted on 11/07/2012 by Steve Dent

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Cardboard Robot has lowered it's crane claw boom on all the Kickstarter money business, and said "Hey, let's have a little fun here, too." It's a robotic arm kit consisting of four stepper motors, a controller, USB computer connection, and a structure made from corrugated cardboard with a claw or smartphone camera mount. While able to pick up small objects like socks and stuffed animals or crane a smartphone around, the fanciful bot's main function seems to be the fun of piecing it together, with its pliable surface also safer for working with kids. To that end, the mech's maker said that not only would it be easy to build, but the source code would be included for tweaking and with every $3k raised, one of the kits would be donated to a US school. So, if you want your own carton-y bot arm kit for learning and light plush toy duty (assembly required), the minimum pledge is $175 -- check the Kickstarter source to see how to pony up, or the video after the break.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Cardboard Robot brings craning, plucking and learning with a dash of whimsey (video)

Filed under: Robots

Insert Coin: Cardboard Robot brings craning, plucking and learning with a dash of whimsey (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentagon starts Phoenix trial to harvest defunct satellites, MacGyver new ones from orbit

Posted on 28/06/2012 by Steve Dent

The Phoenix Frankenprogram to harvest the corpses of expired satellites and cobble together new ones seemed like one of DARPA's more daft ideas, but this one has actually kicked off its first phase of development. The plan is to first launch a service craft -- replete with robotic arms and enough processing horsepower to work independently if needed -- followed by the tiny base-unit skeleton satlets. The service mothership would dip into an orbital area called the "graveyard", grabbing pre-chosen cadavers and picking off usable parts, especially valuable antenna arrays, with its robo-limbs. Those parts would be jury-rigged to the bare-bones units, creating usable Pentagon satellites and saving the $10,000 per pound launch cost. So far, a $2.5 million contract to develop the needed technology has been put in place, and bids for the no-frills satlets went out last week. Plenty of dirty work is still needed, so check the video after the break to see if the overly-elaborate plan can un-moot $300 billion of orbiting cold metal.

Continue reading Pentagon starts Phoenix trial to harvest defunct satellites, MacGyver new ones from orbit

Pentagon starts Phoenix trial to harvest defunct satellites, MacGyver new ones from orbit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iCRAFT robotic feeding arm (eyes-on)

Posted on 13/06/2012 by Brian Heater

We're back for another day of exploring the Northeastern University labs. We checked out a handful of projects yesterday, including the HyCycle, a runner-up in the school's Capstone award. Today we checked out the winner: iCRAFT -- that's short for eye-Controlled Robotic Arm Feeding Technology. The project was developed by a group of seven electrical and computer engineering students looking to create an inexpensive solution for helping the disabled and elderly feed themselves at home. As the Apple-esque name implies, the project utilizes eye-tracking to help the user feed him or herself.

The hardware side of the project involves a robotic arm and controller (which run a combined $640), a hacked Creative webcam and IR light (around $114), three bowls, a water bottle and a custom built power supply. On the software side, the team used the open-source ITU gaze tracker software, combined with a custom GUI. The whole thing is designed to be simple to use right out of the box -- though, being in prototype stage, there were naturally a few hiccups in the process. It didn't work perfectly when we demoed it today, but it certainly wasn't much more buggy than what many companies try to pass off as finished products.

Gallery: iCRAFT robotic feeding arm (eyes-on)