Soon, Boston Dynamics will announce new robots for logistics
What's the story
Boston Dynamics, the SoftBank-owned company that has made headlines for its mind-boggling robots, is set to unveil new machines pretty soon. These robots, the company says, will not be promotional or R&D products, as we have seen over the years, but commercial machines aimed at automating different verticals of the market. Here is all you need to know about it.
CEO
Big plans in logistics, says CEO
In a recent interview with TechCrunch, Robert Playter, the new CEO of Boston Dynamics, said they have big plans for the logistics, one of the first verticals the company's robots are expected to work in. Currently, Boston Dynamics has two popular logistical robots (Handle, Pick), but Playter says they're "going to have some exciting new logistics products coming out in the next two years."
Announcement
Announcement possible next year, availability in 2022
Playter went on to add that they could announce the product, even give a glimpse of its capabilities, sometime next year. "We have customers now doing proof of concept tests," he said. "We'll announce something in 2021, exactly what we're doing, and we'll have product available in 2022." Notably, there is no word on what kind of logistical robots the company plans on announcing.
Work
Logistics is a tested use-case for Boston Dynamics' robots
The decision to start with logistics comes as warehouses make a perfect home for Boston Dynamics' robots. Specifically, the machines can take care of warehouse activities such as moving boxes for processing or unloading shipping containers and help big retail companies improve productivity while saving a lot of time (as machines can work 24/7) and labor costs.
Expansion
Then, we could see expansion to other categories
Once the logistics robots begin selling, the company would expand to other verticals, although the categories are not fixed yet. "We weren't sure exactly what the target verticals would be," Playter told TechCrunch. But, he did assert that COVID-19 has certainly spurred the demand for their robots as they serve as an alternative to manual labor, reducing the risk of contact and exposure.
COVID-19
Some COVID-19-specific projects already fielded
Playter emphasized that they have already fielded a few requests for the use of their robots in the fight against COVID-19. "We've always thought of robots as being able to go into dangerous places, but now danger has been redefined a little bit because of COVID," Playter said. "The pandemic is opening up the kinds of applications that we will explore with this technology."
Information
One robot commercialized so far
So far, Boston Dynamics has commercialized one robot - a four-legged machine called Spot - and sold 260 of its units at $75,000. It has been used for several purposes, including remote triaging of potential COVID-19 patients and as a member of a bomb-detection squad.