Boston Dynamics has collaborated with industrial autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) developer OTTO Motors to demonstrate the future of warehouse automation.

A video released on Tuesday, March 3, shows Handle, which is Boston Dynamics’s logistics robot, picking boxes and building pallets on top of OTTO AMRs in a distribution center testbed.

Last year, the Handle robot completed proof of concept trials with customers in their warehouses. Boston Dynamics and OTTO Motors are working together to further automate the logistics space.

“We’ve built a proof of concept demonstration of a heterogeneous fleet of robots building distribution center orders to provide a more flexible warehouse automation solution,” says Boston Dynamics VP of Product Engineering Kevin Blankespoor.

“To meet the rates that our customers expect, we’re continuing to expand Handle’s capabilities and optimizing its interactions with other robots like the OTTO 1500 for warehouse applications.”

In 2019, Boston Dynamics announced that it wanted to use its Handle robot and Pick computer vision system to add “flexible, highly mobile automation technology” to the warehouse. Since then, the team has equipped the Handle robot with Pick’s box detection software, and sold and integrated Pick into industrial robotic workcells at sites across the globe.

Meanwhile, OTTO Motors’ focus for a long time has been solving the problem of moving goods in the warehouse through AMRs such as the company's OTTO 1500, providing mission-critical deliveries within a variety of industrial environments.

“It’s exciting to engage with other cutting-edge robotics companies like Boston Dynamics,” says Ryan Gariepy, CTO and co-founder of OTTO Motors. “As leaders in our respective spaces, we can apply our technologies to field a whole new realm of applications.”

Photo below: Boston Dynamics’s logistics robot, Handle, picking boxes and building pallets on top of OTTO AMRs in a distribution center testbed. Handle™ robot image provided courtesy of Boston Dynamics, Inc.