Brian Donnelly of Boston Dynamics

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.

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