Meet 'Stretch,' the new warehouse robot

Boston Dynamics unveiled a box-moving robot on Monday designed to make warehouse operations even safer as demand continues to surge in the e-commerce sector.

The multi-purpose robot -- dubbed Stretch -- was created to handle tasks where rapid box moving is required from truck unloading to order building, according to Boston Dynamics.

In fact, it is the first commercial robot designed for warehouse facilities and distribution centers and marks the company's "official entrance into warehouse automation," Boston Dynamics said in a statement.

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According to the Massachusetts-based robotics firm, Stretch's omnidirectional mobile base helps it navigate loading docks, maneuver in tight spaces and adapt to facility layouts which eliminates "the need for costly fixed automation infrastructure," the company said.

It also has a lightweight arm and a smart-gripper that can handle a large variety of boxed and shrink-wrapped cases. Its computer vision technology also gives it the ability to identify boxes easily.

The company's latest creation can increase the "flow of goods, improve employee safety in physically difficult tasks and lower expensive fixed automation costs" within any warehouse, Boston Dynamics said.

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This is especially vital as an increasing number of Americans continue to rely on online ordering.

“Warehouses are struggling to meet rapidly increasing demand as the world relies more on just-in-time delivery of goods,” Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter, said. “Mobile robots enable the flexible movement of materials and improve working conditions for employees."

The company is looking for customers to pilot test Stretch with truck unloading tasks ahead of its commercial deployment in 2022.