Boston Dynamics rolls out a hardened, easier-to-service Stretch Gen 2
From the Robots digest for Nov 6, 2026
What happened: Boston Dynamics unveiled Stretch Gen 2, the second generation of its autonomous trailer-unloading robot, built after more than 100,000 operating hours and tens of millions of boxes handled — and focused, vice president of logistics robotics Brian Donnelly says, on simplification, reliability and faster service after a two-and-a-half-year development.
What's genuinely new: Gen 2 unloads up to 1,000 cases per hour (dependent on case weight and stack tidiness) with a multipick gripper that has a valve and sensor in every suction cup, letting one arm motion carry several boxes; a battery lasting two shifts with 90% charge in about 75 minutes; onboard lighting for dark trailers; and a pre-trained vision system that detects most packages without programming. Durability work cut 81% of internal cabling — around half a mile's worth — swapped in automotive-grade connectors sourced through majority owner Hyundai's supply chain, and added joints that rotate continuously past 360° to avoid hard stops. Service is faster too: a full swerve-drive swap now takes an hour against a day, with onboard diagnostics putting routine maintenance in customers' hands. The redesigned onboard computer takes monthly software updates — the latest lifted the deployed fleet's unload rate by 24% — and Gen 2 is already running at multiple customer sites.
Watch: named Gen 2 customers and deployment counts, verified uptime against the reliability pitch, and the fleet-wide software-gain cadence.
Links: The Robot Report · Nov 6, 4:34 PM ET