波士顿动力发布首款搬箱子专用机器人

The American robotics company Boston Dynamics recently made public a new robot called Stretch. It is designed to do only one job: to move containers, or boxes, in large storage buildings called warehouses.

美国机器人技术公司波士顿动力最近公开了一款名为Stretch的新型机器人。它被设计成只能执行一项工作，那就是在大型仓库里搬运箱子。

Michael Perry is vice president of business development for Boston Dynamics. He said Stretch is the first robot designed for one job that the company has built. He added that the robot was developed because of requests from companies around the world.
迈克尔·佩里是波士顿动力公司的业务发展副总裁。他说，Stretch是该公司制造的首款专为单一工作设计的机器人。他还表示，该机器人是应世界各地公司的要求而开发的。

"We heard pretty much universally across warehousing that truck unloading is one of the most physically difficult and unpleasant jobs... And that's where Stretch comes into play," Perry told Reuters.
佩里对路透社表示：“我们在各个仓库听到最多的是，卸货是最费力和最令人不悦的工作，而这正是Stretch的用武之地。”

Stretch has a small base that permits it to move around small spaces in existing warehouses without having to redesign them. The robot also has an arm with highly developed cameras that can identify and deal with boxes of many shapes and sizes.
Stretch的底座很小，因此无需对仓库重新设计，就能在现有仓库的狭小空间内移动。该机器人的手臂还配备了高度发达的摄像头，可以识别和处理各种形状和大小的箱子。

Perry said Stretch can pick up boxes that weigh about 23 kilograms. He adds that the robot can move about 800 boxes in one hour.
佩里表示，Stretch可以拿起重约23公斤的箱子。他还表示，该机器人在一小时内可以搬运大约800个箱子。

Boston Dynamics is known for YouTube videos of its dog-like ‘Spot' and humanoid ‘Atlas' robots.
波士顿动力在YouTube上以其Spot机器狗和Atlas人形机器人的视频而闻名。

Perry said now is a good time for its latest robot to benefit from increasing demand for speedy home delivery.
佩里表示，现在是其最新款机器人受益于快递需求持续增长的好时机。

Experts say the warehousing industry experienced strong growth in 2020. That growth is expected to continue this year. They say online buying during the coronavirus health crisis drove the need for a huge expansion in delivery services.
专家表示，仓储业在2020年实现了强劲增长。预计这一增长今年将会持续下去。他们表示，新冠病毒健康危机期间的网购驱动了对快递业务大型扩张的需求。

Boston Dynamics has not released a price for Stretch. But the company said the system can be set up without costly redesigns or investments in new buildings or structures.
波士顿动力尚未发布Stretch的价格。但是该公司表示，该系统的安装无需对仓库进行昂贵的重新设计，也无需投资建造新建筑。

I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是乔纳森·埃文斯。

Words in This Story

pretty much –adv. (informal) not completely but mostly

universally –adv. by everyone or everything

base –n. the bottom part of something, support beneath something

delivery –n. the act of taking something to a person or place