Meet Boston Dynamics' new robot, called Stretch

The new robot comes in the form of a mobile base equipped with a robotic arm and gripper. After having deployed the flagship robot dog Spot for a range of different applications, from factory floors to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, robotics company Boston Dynamics has added a brand-new specimen to its line of automatons, this time designed to move boxes around warehouses. Called Stretch, the new robot comes in the form of a mobile base equipped with a robotic arm and gripper, packed with smart sensors and controls that can identify and handle different boxes and shrink-wrapped cases. For now, Stretch's main ability consists of identifying, gripping, and unloading boxes off trucks, but according to Boston Dynamics, the robot will later expand into order building. The company is, therefore, making a debut in warehouse automation – understandably so, given the pace at which the field has accelerated over the course of the past year.