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The headquarters of the mail order company Otto in Hamburg. © Markus Scholz/dpa
Many people know robots from the US company Boston Dynamics from videos on the Internet. The Otto Group, with its mail order brands and the Hermes parcel service, wants to let some of them work in logistics.
Boston – The trading group Otto wants to make its logistics more efficient with robots from the US company Boston Dynamics. The Otto Group will use robots of the “Stretch” model at 20 locations, which can, for example, unload containers, said CEO Kay Schiebur in a media interview.
In addition, the four-legged “Spot” robots, which are reminiscent of a large dog, will be used at ten locations over the next 24 months. Among other things, you will inspect tunnels for Otto, read device displays and detect gas or compressed air leaks based on the noise.
The unloading of containers is currently a bottleneck in logistics, said Schiebur. “At certain peak times throughout the year, it happens that 60, 70 or up to 100 containers are waiting to be unloaded,” he said.
Otto also wants to use “Atlas” robots
Boston Dynamics is a pioneer in robot development that was temporarily owned by Google and was taken over by the South Korean car maker Hyundai three years ago. Videos demonstrating the capabilities of Boston Dynamics machines have been popular online for years. In addition to “Spot”, the humanoid robot “Atlas”, which can walk on two legs and carry loads, is causing a particular stir.
Over time, Otto also wants to use “Atlas” robots, said Schiebur, the board member responsible for logistics. In addition to mail order brands, the Otto Group also includes the Hermes parcel service. “Atlas” has the advantage of being strong and mobile – and having two hands, said Boston Robotics boss Robert Playter. At the same time, he added that it would be some time before the robot was marketed.
100 potential usage scenarios
“Stretch,” meanwhile, consists primarily of a large gripper arm with suction cups that can move boxes weighing up to 23 kilograms. His first task is to take goods out of the container and place them on a track. Over time, he should also be able to load and unload pallets, for example, said Playter. Otto and Boston Dynamics also want to cooperate in development. Among other things, the robot provider wants to improve its software for visual recognition of objects.
Schiebur emphasized that Otto wants to use robots in artificial intelligence on a broad front and has already identified more than 100 potential usage scenarios. dpa