Brian Donnelly is vice president and general manager of logistics robotics at Boston Dynamics, a company that’s working to reinvent global logistics with its Stretch and Atlas warehouse robots. Donnelly personally led the transition of the Atlas robot from a research prototype to a productive platform designed for “superhuman capability.”
Before joining Boston Dynamics, Donnelly spent nearly 20 years in leadership roles at semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices. He was also a leader in product management and engineering for a Covid testing and vaccination startup. He holds a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Q: MANY OF YOUR ROBOTS ARE DESIGNED FOR DANGEROUS AND STRENUOUS TASKS. WHAT ARE YOUR OBJECTIVES WHEN YOU DESIGN ROBOTS FOR JOBS HUMAN WORKERS DON’T WANT TO DO?
A: Our primary objective in designing robots for tasks human workers do not want to do is to keep people safe and out of harm’s way. Many operational environments are far too dangerous for humans to operate in or involve repetitive, heavy lifting that increases the risk of chronic injury. I was once in a manufacturing plant that had huge aluminum brazing ovens, with flames licking out the sides and a human loading the machines manually. I commented to our host that it must be the job people disliked the most. He responded that while it’s hot, it’s not the job people most hate—it’s repetitive, heavy lifting tasks where they get injured.
Q: HUMANOID ROBOTS ARE GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION, BUT ARE THEY THE BEST FIT FOR DISTRIBUTION TASKS OR ARE THERE OTHER TYPES OF ROBOTS THAT ARE BETTER SUITED FOR WAREHOUSES?
A: A lot of companies are jumping into the humanoid race right now, which is great, but frankly, finding the exact applications where humanoids deliver real-world value takes time. In fact, when we launched Spot as a general-purpose platform, it took us a while to figure out what it was best at, and it was only by working closely with our customers that we “iterated” on the product to make it the reliable inspection robot it is today.
We are taking that exact same approach with our humanoid, Atlas. We will partner with a small group of innovative customers before expanding into other industries. Atlas’ first task will be part sequencing, a logistics support task to enable high-speed production in facilities such as car plants. We see a future where multiple types of specialized and general-purpose robots work together seamlessly within a warehouse.
Q: WHAT WAREHOUSE CHALLENGES ARE MOST RIPE FOR ROBOTIC INNOVATION?
A: Companies are looking to move employees into higher-value roles and let robots handle the repetitive, injury-prone tasks. The two big areas that are really difficult, unsolved problems are case-pick and each-pick. These involve complex manipulation challenges and dynamic workflows. These are areas that we are investing in today to deliver complete solutions in the future.
Q: WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE COMPANIES THAT ARE SEEING BIG RETURNS ON THEIR LOGISTICS AUTOMATION INVESTMENTS FROM THE ONES THAT ARE STRUGGLING TO MOVE THE NEEDLE?
A: The biggest differentiator isn’t the technology—it’s the speed and mindset of deployment.
A lot of operations take a wait-and-see approach: They buy one robot in year one, monitor it for 12 months, buy two or three more in year two, and only start thinking about scaling in year three or four. In today’s supply chain landscape, that slow-drip approach actually works against you and delays the compounding efficiencies automation is designed to bring.
