A New Robot Aims to Do the Heavy Lifting
2021-04-02
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1The American robotics company Boston Dynamics recently made public a new robot called Stretch.
2It is designed to do only one job: to move containers, or boxes, in large storage buildings called warehouses.
3Michael Perry is vice president of business development for Boston Dynamics.
4He said Stretch is the first robot designed for one job that the company has built.
5He added that the robot was developed because of requests from companies around the world.
6"We heard pretty much universally across warehousing that truck unloading is one of the most physically difficult and unpleasant jobs... And that's where Stretch comes into play," Perry told Reuters.
7Stretch has a small base that permits it to move around small spaces in existing warehouses without having to redesign them.
8The robot also has an arm with highly developed cameras that can identify and deal with boxes of many shapes and sizes.
9Perry said Stretch can pick up boxes that weigh about 23 kilograms.
10He adds that the robot can move about 800 boxes in one hour.
11Boston Dynamics is known for YouTube videos of its dog-like 'Spot' and humanoid 'Atlas' robots.
12Perry said now is a good time for its latest robot to benefit from increasing demand for speedy home delivery.
13Experts say the warehousing industry experienced strong growth in 2020.
14That growth is expected to continue this year.
15They say online buying during the coronavirus health crisis drove the need for a huge expansion in delivery services.
16Boston Dynamics has not released a price for Stretch.
17But the company said the system can be set up without costly redesigns or investments in new buildings or structures.
18I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The American robotics company Boston Dynamics recently made public a new robot called Stretch. It is designed to do only one job: to move containers, or boxes, in large storage buildings called warehouses. 2Michael Perry is vice president of business development for Boston Dynamics. He said Stretch is the first robot designed for one job that the company has built. He added that the robot was developed because of requests from companies around the world. 3"We heard pretty much universally across warehousing that truck unloading is one of the most physically difficult and unpleasant jobs... And that's where Stretch comes into play," Perry told Reuters. 4Stretch has a small base that permits it to move around small spaces in existing warehouses without having to redesign them. The robot also has an arm with highly developed cameras that can identify and deal with boxes of many shapes and sizes. 5Perry said Stretch can pick up boxes that weigh about 23 kilograms. He adds that the robot can move about 800 boxes in one hour. 6Boston Dynamics is known for YouTube videos of its dog-like 'Spot' and humanoid 'Atlas' robots. 7Perry said now is a good time for its latest robot to benefit from increasing demand for speedy home delivery. 8Experts say the warehousing industry experienced strong growth in 2020. That growth is expected to continue this year. They say online buying during the coronavirus health crisis drove the need for a huge expansion in delivery services. 9Boston Dynamics has not released a price for Stretch. But the company said the system can be set up without costly redesigns or investments in new buildings or structures. 10I'm Jonathan Evans. 11Matthew Stock reported on this story for the Reuters news service. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 12______________________________________________________________ 13Words in This Story 14pretty much -adv. (informal) not completely but mostly 15universally -adv. by everyone or everything 16base -n. the bottom part of something, support beneath something 17delivery -n. the act of taking something to a person or place