Robots are now able to take on the task of loading and unloading trucks, reported The Wall Street Journal. Several companies are bringing these robots to the supply chain.

Engineers at Ambi Robotics reportedly designed a videogame to train its robotic stacking system, AmbiStack. It simulated challenging situations, including moving heavy parcels and boxes with strange dimensions, said Jeff Mahler, Ambi Robotics co-founder and chief technology officer.

WSJ reported that the technology could potentially mean more efficiently packed pallets, fewer damaged items and time saved. While the machine doesn’t know the contents of each package, it does know the item's weight, approximate center of gravity and how fragile it is.

“The robot will use the information it has on item fragility, center of gravity and weight to choose the optimal pallet and determine where the item should be placed to minimize damage, but still allow the highest possible number of boxes to be packed in the given space,” wrote WSJ.

Another company, Boston Dynamics, has designed a robot called Stretch, which can lift boxes weighing up to 50 pounds.

DHL reportedly now has a total of seven Stretch robots in supply-chain facilities in three states and has trained nearly 100 associates to operate them. In Columbus, Ohio, “one Stretch robot that DHL staff named ‘Johnny 5’ unloads around 580 cases an hour, almost twice the rate of a human unloader.”

DHL in May signed an agreement with Boston Dynamics for 1,000 more robots, wrote WSJ. Walmart has also introduced robots that can unload a truck.

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