2nd April 2019

Handle robot reimagined for logistics

Boston Dynamics has revealed a modified version of its "Handle" robot, which can now perform warehouse operations autonomously.

Handle is a mobile manipulation robot designed for logistics. It performs mixed stock-keeping unit (SKU) pallet building and depalletising after initialisation and localising against the pallets. A computer vision system on Handle tracks the marked pallets for navigation and finds individual boxes for grasping and placing. When Handle places a box onto a pallet, it uses precise force control to nestle each box up against its neighbours. The boxes featured in the video each weigh about 5 kg (11 lbs), but the robot is designed to handle loads up to (15 kg) (33 lb). This version of Handle works with pallets that are 1.2 m deep and 1.7 m tall.

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