Warehouse Robotics Unlock Efficiencies

Mobile Fulfillment Robot Founders Enter the Logistics Hall of Fame

The inventors of the mobile robotic fulfillment system—Mick Mountz (59), Dr. Peter Wurman (59), and Prof. Dr. Raffaello D’Andrea (57)—were inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame in December 2024.

The Logistics Hall of Fame credits the trio with making the goods-to-person picking concept the global standard for ecommerce and omnichannel processes.

“For many companies, mobile robotic fulfillment systems are the technological basis for same-day delivery as we know it,” says Anita Wuermser, executive chairwoman of the Logistics Hall of Fame jury, which includes 70 leaders from business, science, politics, and the media in 13 countries.

In 2001, Mountz came up with the goods-to-person idea as he observed the downfall of ecommerce provider Webvan, his former employer, blaming inflexible intralogistics systems and high order fulfillment costs. This inspired the American to develop a method for picking, packing, and shipping orders that could deliver any item to any logistics employee at any time.

To realize his idea, Mountz sought the help of AI and software expert Peter Wurman and robotics and AI pioneer Raffaello D’Andrea. In 2003, they founded Distrobot, which became Kiva Systems in 2005. They developed the Kiva mobile fulfillment system (U.S. patent number 8,649,899).

Kiva Systems featured mobile transport robots that ensured the continuous movement of stock on small shelves between storage areas and picking stations. The robots navigate around the distribution center by fusing various sensors, such as camera images and inertial sensors, to determine the position of the robot in the warehouse, and then executing missions orchestrated through wireless communications to prevent collisions. The software algorithms in the cloud ensure the system optimizes the use of the worker’s and robot’s time.

With 275 employees, Kiva Systems produced all hardware and software, including two different robot models. By 2012, dozens of companies were among the customers, including Walgreens, Staples, and Gap.

The largest customer became Amazon, which acquired the company in March 2012 for $775 million. In August 2015, the company changed its name from Kiva Systems LLC to Amazon Robotics LLC. By 2024, the company approached 800,000 mobile robots deployed in Amazon warehouses worldwide.

Dynamic Duo: Spot and Stretch Team Up

Otto Group, one of the world’s largest ecommerce retailers, recently deployed Boston Dynamics’ Spot (its agile canine-like mobile robot) and Stretch (its mobile case-handling solution). The deployment is the first example of the two robots working together in the warehouse at scale. It’s also the first deployment of Stretch in Europe.

Stretch is Boston Dynamics’ first commercial robot designed specifically to improve warehouse operations. The versatile mobile robot builds upon the company’s advancements in mobility, perception, and manipulation and is being used primarily to unload floor-loaded trailers and containers.

With its ability to handle a large range of package types and sizes, Stretch can improve warehouse efficiency and safety and is a flexible solution that can be deployed in various warehouse configurations. Companies, such as DHL, Maersk, and H&M have been using Stretch for more than one year.

Boston Dynamics also launched new capabilities for Spot and Orbit, the company’s robot fleet management software (see sidebar).

More than 1,500 Spot robots are deployed globally. The latest 4.1 release adds acoustic vibration sensing, reality capture, and capabilities to make managing data missions easier. These hardware and systems improvements allow Spot to meet the demands of dynamic, complex facilities.

Stretch Helps 3PL Arvato Unload Efficiencies

Stretch has also found employment at third-party logistics provider Arvato’s logistics campus in Louisville, Kentucky. Arvato uses Stretch to unload a wide variety of loose-loaded boxes from containers.

By implementing its first two Stretch robots, Arvato completed the process chain for a fully automated goods receiving process—including smart data capturing, robotic palletizing, and pallet transports by AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and AMRs (autonomous mobile robots).

The challenge for the provider was finding a solution that could gently handle the cartons and manage variability.

Enter Stretch. The mobile robots are entirely self-contained, requiring no power or air lines for operation. This mobility reduces infrastructure costs and training time for Arvato’s employees. The system utilizes a vision system to detect the front of all boxes in a container.

The robot then makes decisions in real time on which box or boxes to pick and how to do so. The single robotic arm is equipped with a gripper at the end consisting of several rows of suction cups, allowing it to grab boxes from various angles. It then carefully places the boxes on a conveyor belt that will carry it further into the warehouse.

The multipicking feature allows higher throughputs, especially with smaller, lighter cartons. It can also multipick some of the heavier cartons. It can handle packages of various sizes weighing up to 50 pounds, and work continuously for up to 16 hours.

“Seasonal planning is critical to Arvato operations,” says Rachael Miller, senior director of operations at Arvato’s Louisville campus. “There are often unknowns in the supply chain. With Stretch being very consistent on its unload rate, we can plan additional capacities where we need them.

“We can also plan for off hours where we may not have a scheduled shift in place, with just one operator putting Stretch into a truck,” she adds.

AI Foundation Model Is Primed for Warehouse Work

Ambi Robotics, a provider of AI-powered robotic sorting solutions, launched PRIME-1, the first robotic foundation model to be deployed in real-world commercial warehouse operations.

PRIME-1, which stands for Production-Ready Industrial Manipulation Expert, provides a backbone that can be fine-tuned for a variety of robot operations including 3D perception, package picking, and quality control. It can increase performance, accelerate product development, and boost the reliability and maintainability of robotic solutions.

The foundation model was pre-trained with self-supervised deep learning on more than 20 million high-quality images from individual pick, place, and pack events spanning 150,000 operating hours across the company’s fleet of AI-powered robotic sorting systems in U.S. warehouses. The training dataset represents about 1% of the data collected to-date. The breadth and specificity of data ensures PRIME-1 is optimized for precision and efficiency in real-world logistics operations.

Detachable Mobile Manipulator Robot Lends an Arm

Rethink Robotics launched new robotics products, including seven Rethink Reacher cobots, its Rethink Ryder AMR line, and the Rethink Riser mobile manipulator robot (MMR). The Rethink Riser MMR allows a single AMR to serve multiple stationary cobot applications.

Rethink Riser is designed for intermittent pick-and-place operations and machine tending applications where cycle times are relatively long, making it difficult to justify the purchase of a dedicated cobot for each station. Rethink Riser allows flexible cobot redeployment.

 

 

Apparel Maker Seeks Help in a Pickle

Pickle Robot has been in production at Randa Apparel & Accessories’ Fort Worth, Texas, logistics fulfillment center since mid-October 2024, unloading containers of products. So far, the Pickle Robot has unloaded more than 1.5 million pounds of apparel, including pants, shirts, and accessories.

Each container holds between 800 and 1,200 cases that each weigh up to 30 pounds, which the robot unloads while the associates manage the robot and the downstream processes inside the building. The robot performs work that is physically demanding and repetitive for the associates in uncomfortable conditions—the container is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The Randa inbound team and fulfillment associates report positive experiences working alongside the robot.

 

Autonomous Inventory System Takes Flight

Corvus One, a drone-powered autonomous inventory management system from Corvus Robotics, operates in distribution centers without any added infrastructure like reflectors, stickers, or beacons.

Using computer vision and generative AI built off large world models to understand its environment, the autonomous Corvus One drone system operates in both very narrow aisles (minimum width of 50 inches) and in very wide aisles.

With obstacle detection at its core, the lightweight drone safely flies at walking speed without disrupting workflow or blocking aisles and can preventatively ascend to avoid collisions with people, forklifts, or robots. It can read barcode symbology in any orientation placed anywhere on the front of cartons or pallets.

Corvus One can boost efficiency and cut overall inventory costs. By shifting associates to higher-value tasks like picking and replenishment, Corvus One improves operational efficiency while helping companies realize labor savings.

The system can help maximize space utilization, avoid stockouts, and improve KPIs with smarter replenishment and more accurate physical inventory (PI) counts. It can achieve 99.9% inventory accuracy, free up to 10% total pallet racking space, and reduce shrinkage and materials handling equipment costs.

AMRs Keep 3PL KSP in Peak Shape

KSP Fulfillment deployed 60 Locus AMRs at its warehouse in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, with operations starting in August 2024.

The third-party logistics company partnered with Peak Technologies, a provider of digital supply chain and mobile workforce solutions, which integrated the Locus solution into KSP Fulfillment’s warehouse technologies and helped visualize the process. The LocusBots work side-by-side with workers to pick and transport inventory and orders throughout KSP’s 225,000-square-foot fulfillment center, streamlining picking and replenishing operations to meet growing customer demand.

During the upcoming fall peak season period, KSP plans to deploy an additional 50 seasonal LocusBots to meet anticipated demand.

Autonomous Lift Truck Performs Heavy Lifting

The Lift RS1 AMR from Seegrid, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robot solutions for palletized materials handling, is designed to transform materials handling workflows, providing productivity, efficiency, and safety.

Seegrid’s Lift RS1 AMR is capable of a 6-foot lift height, making it ideal for low-lift processes across industrial facility applications. With a payload capacity of 3,500 pounds, it enables facilities to handle heavy loads more efficiently, boosting overall operational productivity. The RS1 can perform tasks with precision and minimal downtime.

With its vision-guided technology, Seegrid’s Lift RS1 can safely navigate dynamic environments without the need for infrastructure such as magnets or reflectors.
The RS1 features Seegrid’s Sliding Scale Autonomy, a capability that combines the agility of AMRs and the predictability of automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

This allows the lift truck to navigate differently based on what is best suited for the specific customer application at hand—whether performing long-haul routes or executing picks and drops. Equipped with LiDAR-based SLAM technology, the RS1 plans dynamic routes based on real-time perception feedback ensuring reliable picks and drops without training.

Lift RS1 offers 360° safety coverage. The truck has both primary and secondary safety sensing capabilities. While some systems rely on primary obstruction detection, which can sense objects within 6 inches of the ground, Seegrid’s secondary obstruction detection technology provides precise scanning of the drop area prior to payload release. This gives an extra layer of safety, ensuring accurate pallet drops and reducing the risk of errors.

TORU Robots: A Shoe-In for Fulfillment

Gabor Shoes AG implemented two TORU robots from Jungheinrich subsidiary Magazino in its warehouse in Mindelheim, Germany, automating its shoe picking process.

Gabor Shoes AG, a German company and one of the largest shoe manufacturers in Europe, deployed the TORU robots to assist with order fulfillment at its Mindelheim location near Munich. The collaboration aimed to align order picking with the high level of automation throughout the warehouse.

The implementation of the TORU robots at Gabor went smoothly: The commissioning, including IT integration, was completed within three months.

TORU works autonomously and can be quickly integrated into existing warehouse environments. The robot is able to perceive its surroundings and operate safely alongside human staff with the help of 3D cameras, sensors, and laser scanners.

At Gabor, its tasks consist of picking, transporting, and sorting shoe boxes of various sizes into a handover station, with a carrying capacity of up to 16 boxes in its backpack. Orders are transmitted via a wireless connection to Gabor’s warehouse management system.

---

New Orbit

Users can do more with Spot, with the recent upgrades to Boston Dynamics’ robot fleet management software Orbit:

Multi docking – enables sites to maximize Spot’s inspection time since the robot is no longer confined to one docking location

Alert triaging – lets sites surface critical issues where assets require attention and group, triage, and dismiss alerts in a single click

Faster deployment – updates to authoring workflows to streamline deployment

Cloud availability – available in Australia, Brazil, EU, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and North America (previously the United States only)

---

Humanoids? Wait 5 Years

As warehouse operators, ecommerce platforms, and manufacturers boost automation plans in response to labor shortages in warehouses, high-growth areas in robotic automation include: mixed palletizing and depalletizing, and mixed-SKU piece picking and packing, says Derik Pridmore, co-founder and CEO of robotics solutions provider OSARO.

Next up will be truck and van unloading, he notes. Meanwhile, the number of humanoid units produced by companies will remain at single-digit growth, he predicts.

Significant technical barriers persist, including battery life, heat dissipation, payload, sensing, safety, and a hardware/software learning loop. Cost optimization for mass manufacturing of humanoids is still 5+ years away, he estimates.

---

$5.5 Billion

The estimated global revenue of mobile robots in 2024, according to Ash Sharma, chief commercial officer and VP of research – robotics and warehouse automation at Interact Analytics.

The market intelligence research company cut its growth projections due to a slowdown in China. Despite its more cautious forecast, the outlook out to 2030 is still for double-digit growth (more than 20% annually). In 2023, the mobile robot market grew by 27% to amass $4.5 billion globally.

---

Fortifying Your Automated Warehouse

By Fouad Khalil, Senior Director of Enterprise Security, Risk & Compliance, Locus Robotics

With cyberattacks accelerating and the average data breach now costing $4.45 million, warehouse operators must approach automation security strategically. As warehouses increasingly deploy robots and connected systems, they are expanding their attack surface and creating new vulnerabilities.

Identify and address security risks before they become problems. Using the STRIDE framework (Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of Privileges), operators can evaluate threats across their entire warehouse technology stack.

The challenge isn’t just identifying threats—it’s deciding how to address them cost-effectively. Organizations must weigh factors like operational impact, implementation costs, regulatory requirements, and available resources. Success requires a holistic approach combining the following:

PEOPLE: Ensure staff are properly trained in security awareness and clearly understand their responsibilities.

PROCESSES: Implement robust security practices, from visitor management to incident response procedures.

TECHNOLOGIES: Deploy appropriate solutions like identity and access management, VPNs, API security, and network protection.

Regular monitoring and testing are crucial. Organizations must proactively identify and address risks to protect their operations, assets, and data. By applying structured threat modeling and implementing comprehensive security programs, warehouse operators can confidently embrace automation while maintaining robust protection against evolving threats.

---