What are warehouse robots?

Warehouse robots are machines that automate storage, picking, transport, sorting or inventory tasks in a distribution center. The main types are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), goods-to-person systems and AS/RS, robotic picking or case-handling arms, and inventory drones.

What is the difference between an AMR and an AGV?

An AGV follows fixed guidance such as floor markers, tape or wires, so its routes are predefined. An AMR builds its own map and plans routes dynamically around people and obstacles, so routes can change in software without changing the floor.

What is goods-to-person picking?

In goods-to-person picking, robots bring bins, totes or shelves to a stationary worker or robot at a pick station, instead of the worker walking the aisles. AutoStore's cube storage system is one example.

What is Locus Origin?

Locus Origin is a collaborative autonomous mobile robot from Locus Robotics. Locus says it supports picking, putaway, replenishment, returns and sortation, can be added in large numbers for peak periods, and works in existing facilities without redesigning them.

Does Amazon use warehouse robots?

Yes. Amazon describes a fleet of robots in its fulfillment centers, including the Hercules and Titan drive units that move inventory pods, the Sequoia inventory system, and the Sparrow, Robin and Vulcan robotic arms.

Warehouse Robots

Warehouse robots automate storage, picking, transport, sorting and inventory counts in distribution centers. This guide explains the five main types, how they differ, and which companies make them — with every vendor detail taken from the vendor's own site.

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)

AMRs navigate a warehouse on their own, without fixed tracks or floor wires, and plan routes around people and obstacles. The common use is collaborative picking: the robot drives to each pick location, a worker places items in its totes, and the robot carries the order away. Fleets can usually be scaled up for peak season and back down afterwards.

Examples

Locus Origin (Locus Robotics) — collaborative AMR for picking, putaway, replenishment, returns and sortation
Geek+ — AMRs for shelf, tote, pallet, sorting and transport work

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs)

AGVs follow predefined paths — markers, magnetic tape or wires — to move pallets, carts and loads between fixed points. They are predictable and well suited to repetitive transport, but changing a route usually means changing the guidance on the floor rather than just updating software.

Examples

Amazon Hercules — Amazon says Hercules reads a grid of encoded floor markers to navigate and lift inventory pods

Goods-to-person systems and AS/RS

Instead of workers walking to inventory, robots bring storage bins, totes or shelves to a fixed pick station. Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) pack inventory densely — often in a cube or high-bay structure — and use robots to retrieve it.

Examples

AutoStore — cube-shaped AS/RS: robots on top of a grid retrieve bins and deliver them to ports
Symbotic — end-to-end case-handling automation for retailers and distributors, storing cases on shelves without totes or trays
Amazon Sequoia — Amazon says Sequoia identifies and stores inventory up to 75% faster

Robotic picking and case-handling arms

Arms with suction or grippers and computer vision pick individual items, or move boxes, at a workstation or on a mobile base. Mobile case-handling robots are used for truck and container unloading.

Examples

Boston Dynamics Stretch — mobile case-handling robot that Boston Dynamics says moves hundreds of cases an hour and is running within days of delivery
Amazon Sparrow and Vulcan — item-picking arms; Amazon describes Vulcan as its first robot with a sense of touch

Inventory drones

Indoor drones fly the aisles and scan pallet labels to count inventory and find mismatches, replacing manual cycle counts on high racking.

Examples

Corvus Robotics — autonomous drones and forklift sensors that count inventory in warehouses

Warehouse robots we track

Locus Origin — Collaborative warehouse AMR for high-volume picking, putaway and replenishment workflows.

See the full warehouse robots category, or other business robots: delivery, security and restaurant.

Warehouse robot FAQ

What are warehouse robots?: Warehouse robots are machines that automate storage, picking, transport, sorting or inventory tasks in a distribution center. The main types are autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), goods-to-person systems and AS/RS, robotic picking or case-handling arms, and inventory drones.
What is the difference between an AMR and an AGV?: An AGV follows fixed guidance such as floor markers, tape or wires, so its routes are predefined. An AMR builds its own map and plans routes dynamically around people and obstacles, so routes can change in software without changing the floor.
What is goods-to-person picking?: In goods-to-person picking, robots bring bins, totes or shelves to a stationary worker or robot at a pick station, instead of the worker walking the aisles. AutoStore's cube storage system is one example.
What is Locus Origin?: Locus Origin is a collaborative autonomous mobile robot from Locus Robotics. Locus says it supports picking, putaway, replenishment, returns and sortation, can be added in large numbers for peak periods, and works in existing facilities without redesigning them.
Does Amazon use warehouse robots?: Yes. Amazon describes a fleet of robots in its fulfillment centers, including the Hercules and Titan drive units that move inventory pods, the Sequoia inventory system, and the Sparrow, Robin and Vulcan robotic arms.