Boston Dynamics
Canvas Category Machinery : Industrial Robot : Autonomous Mobile Robot
Boston Dynamics’ mission is to imagine and create exceptional robots that enrich people’s lives. Building machines that can approximate the mobility, dexterity and agility of people and animals is a grand challenge. Curiosity and respect for the natural world are at the heart of our work on robots. We see products derived from this work as the next step in the human history of building machines to reduce the danger, repetition and physically difficult aspects of work.
Assembly Line
SK Innovation’s Ulsan plant goes smarter with AI, robot dog, AR tech
At a petrochemical plant run by SK Innovation Co., South Korea’s largest oil refiner, Spot, a robot dog, was on routine patrol around the factory to spot any potential gas leaks. The $131,600 Spot, made by US robotics startup Boston Dynamics, recently joined SK Innovation, the parent of SK Energy Co., as its robot employee to enhance safety in SK’s plant operations. At another plant where a new building is under construction, SK Energy officials were checking a smart scaffolding system developed with augmented reality (AR) technology for efficient and safe construction.
In February, SK Energy teamed up with PTC Korea Co. to jointly enter the global smart plant construction business. Under their partnership, SK plans to use PTC Korea’s software technology in its next-generation facility management system OCEAN-H, or optimized & connected enterprise asset network hub. OCEAN-H, a system that systematically accumulates data on energy and chemical industry facilities within factories, is used to improve efficiency and safety in plant operations.
Inside Hyundai’s new sci-fi smart factory
The Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS, for short) isn’t just a firmware update of the traditional assembly line – it’s a futuristic (and mildly terrifying) look at our increasingly roboticized, AI-driven future. While Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot trots around to approve vehicles, a full digital twin of the factory floor runs simulations showing how the space can be better optimized. But arguably the most interesting thing is that you can order a new car at Hyundai’s plant and drive it away on the same day.
“This isn’t like a traditional production plant,” explains VP and Head of Smart Factory Technology, Alpesh Patel. “We plan to produce around 70 cars a day here, so it’s no mass production line, but that’s not the point. The speed at which we can react to customer personalization demands and cater to bespoke project requirements is like little else,” he adds. Patel claims that is can take as little as three hours to go from a customer ordering a vehicle to driving it away, thanks to the unique set-up of the highly automated cell-based production process.
Just a handful of highly skilled operatives work with walls of screens that can pull up a wealth of smart factory data, checking in on efficiency levels of each production cell and predicting when a robot requires servicing or a part needs to be ordered long before the need arises. A separate section of the room features a full digital twin of the factory floor (a meta factory, as it is referred to), which can run simulations when new production requirements arise. Patel claims that currently, staff in the Digital Command Centre are integral to the operation, but he states that AI will soon step up and begin taking care of most of the day-to-day functionality.
🦾 Boston Dynamics wants to change the world with its state-of-the-art robots
CEO Robert Playter dispels worries about the potential harm robots could inflict and thinks they will empower people instead of displacing them. Playter sat down with strategy+business to talk about the company’s ongoing transformation, the role that robotics plays in powering the next evolution in business, and the importance of human leadership at even the most tech-enabled company.
The transition to a product company didn’t happen overnight—it was a slow transition, with the acquisition by Google in 2013 being the initial catalyst. We really began thinking through how our technologies could be used by industries, and what it would take to make a reliable robot that could function outside a controlled environment. Then, when SoftBank bought us in 2017, we became even more focused on releasing commercial products, which became our core focus by the time Hyundai purchased a majority stake in the company. Hyundai’s expansive manufacturing and global sales expertise is particularly valuable for us as we continue to grow.
Robotics and AI: Unleashing the future of construction
Robotic Maintenance in the Chemical Industry: Evonik Relies on Getac F110 Tablet to Control Autonomous Robot
Evonik relies on Getac’s F110 ATEX certified tablet to control the robot and teach it automated inspection routes around the facility. The company chose the F110-EX due to its powerful performance and excellent reliability, compared to other rugged computing alternatives. In addition, Getac’s fast response and high degree of flexibility while integrating the solution were key factors in creating an optimal working environment for the Proof of Concept (PoC). The robot’s software was provided by Energy Robotics, while the robot itself was supplied by Boston Dynamics.
Do You Love Me?
Where Four-Legged Robot Dogs Are Finding Work
Createc takes Spot to Sellafield to complete his first active demonstration
Break Through Supply Chain Blocks with Automated Container Unloading
Boston Dynamics is beginning to deploy Stretch, an autonomous case-handling robot poised to change the way warehouses and ports operate. Expected to be available later in 2022, the robot can work up to 16 hours on a single battery charge, so companies can send Stretch to unload trucks or containers for full shifts both day and night.
Built on a compact, wheeled base, Stretch can travel easily to each point of activity in a distribution center. The robot is self-reliant, untethered by power cables or air lines. Its vacuum-based gripper, at the end of a robotic arm with long reach, is designed to grasp a wide variety of box types required for a truly valuable solution in the logistics industry. With its small, pallet-sized footprint and embedded smarts, Stretch needs no pre-programming or overhaul of existing warehouse equipment to begin working, and is ready to deploy in just days.
Can Boston Dynamics’ Robots Spot And Stretch Make It Profitable?
Hyundai Motor Group x Boston Dynamics Factory Safety Service Robot
Stretch Is Boston Dynamics' Take on a Practical Mobile Manipulator for Warehouses
Boston Dynamics is announcing Stretch, a mobile robot designed to autonomously move boxes around warehouses. At first glance, you might be wondering why the heck this is a Boston Dynamics robot at all, since the dynamic mobility that we associate with most of their platforms is notably absent. The combination of strength and speed in Stretch’s arm is something we haven’t seen before in a mobile robot, and it’s what makes this a unique and potentially exciting entry into the warehouse robotics space.
Boston Dynamics' Spot Robot Is Now Armed
The quadruped robot can now use an arm to interact with its environment semi-autonomously.
So the real question about this arm is whether Boston Dynamics has managed to get it to a point where it’s autonomous enough that users with relatively little robotics experience will be able to get it to do useful tasks without driving themselves nuts.