Walmart will deploy robotic forklifts in its distribution centers

The story of warehouse robotics is the story of trying to keep up with Amazon. It’s been more than a decade since the online giant revolutionized its delivery services with the acquisition of Kiva Systems. As Walmart strives to stay competitive, it’s taking a more piecemeal approach to automation, through partnerships with various robotics companies.

On Thursday, the mega-retailer announced a partnership with Fox Robotics, which brings 19 of the Austin-based startup’s robotic forklifts to its distribution centers. Today’s news follows a 16-month pilot project in which Walmart tested the technology in the 6020 distribution center.

This Florida distribution center is the first of what the company calls its “high-tech distribution center.” These are warehouses where the company tests automation and various other technologies, before rolling them out into its wider channel of distribution and fulfillment centers. DC 6020 is where Walmart began testing Symbotic’s package sorting and recovery technologies.

Following the successful trial, Walmart announced plans to deploy the technology across its 42 regional distribution centers, nearly double the original goal of 25. This week’s news is more modest, targeting four distribution centers from high tech, but if things go well, well, the retailer will order more.

Robotic forklifts are emblematic of a brownfield automation approach, meaning the company effectively retrofits existing warehouses with technology, rather than building that space around the technology. This is certainly a quicker and less expensive approach, although compromises may be necessary in the end.

So why automate forklifts? In addition to efficiency, properly automated systems provide an additional sense of security. In the United States, approximately 95 people are injured by forklifts every day. Imagine operating heavy machinery with blind spots and two huge metal prongs protruding out the front, and you can begin to understand why they are potentially very dangerous, especially in tight spaces. with lots of human workers hanging around.