Dextrous Robotics has shown a robot that unloads a truck at a speed of 900 boxes per hour
Although the robots are already helping people in warehouses by sorting small items, they are not yet good at lifting boxes and other heavy objects, which is exactly what was required of them in the first place. A number of companies are working on this problem, hoping to be the first to enter a market with huge potential. One of the most interesting solutions is offered by Dextrous Robotics: its robot moves heavy boxes using two huge manipulators that look like chopsticks.
“The wand method has proven to be very reliable,” said Evan Drumwright, CEO of Dextrous. – “You can drag heavy loads and small objects with equal precision. The independent sticks allow different objects to be held with a simple mechanical design. This is a real simplification of the gripping problem.”
In the video, the robot simulates unloading a truck, moving about 150 boxes per hour, but this is not the limit – the system is capable of working faster. In an uncluttered room, the Dextrous robot is capable of operating at a speed of 900 boxes per hour. That’s about twice as fast as a human, without taking into account the weight of the box. If it weighs more than 20 kg, two loaders are required, and the efficiency of human labor decreases.
On paper, the robot’s lifting capacity is 40 kg at accelerations of up to 3 g and up to 65 kg at lower accelerations. This equals 2000 boxes per hour. So far, this is only in theory, but the company is working in this direction, Spectrum writes.
If the task was only to lift heavy boxes, robots would have coped with it long ago. However, before you can move the box, you need to pick it up, and this is where the difficulties begin. Teams of engineers come up with different solutions, but the Dextrous team liked the giant chopsticks.
It is very difficult to manipulate rigid objects with rigid manipulators, and it took the company several years to find the right technology. It is not yet working at its maximum capacity, but it is already very good, according to Dextrous executives. The prototype demonstrated the ability to lift objects of various sizes in a reasonable period of time. All work is done automatically, without any remote control.
“We have solved all the most difficult technical problems,” Drumwright said. – “Now it’s time for business.
Engineers from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute have developed a self-balancing evoWOT that surpasses humanoid robots in its abilities. It moves at speeds of up to 60 km/h, lifts up to 65 kg, works for eight hours without recharging, and is lightweight and maneuverable.
