Walmart is adding Symbiotic robots to warehouses across the country. The robotization move comes as the retail giant faces increasing competition from Amazon and other e-commerce companies in an increasingly vital part of its business.
They will start with their facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The company will use 30 robots at the warehouse, part of its eCommerce fulfillment center.
The new automated technology will be deployed in three U.S. distribution centers — in California, Texas, and Illinois — with plans to expand to more than 20 facilities by 2022. The system will pick orders delivered to stores by humans and stock shelves with items that customers order online or via mobile apps.
According to Walmart spokesperson Randy, the firm has been looking at robotics for some time, Hargrove in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday morning. However, they will not be able to replace jobs like picking from shelves with automation — but we can make those jobs better.”
These robots are designed to work hand in hand alongside humans on order fulfillment lines, picking up items off shelves and packing them into boxes for shipping. They can also be used for inventory management and other tasks that require fine motor skills.
Walmart’s stores are already home to several automated systems, from self-checkouts to automated palletizers. And now, it’s bringing more automation into its warehouses. The company has begun rolling out the Symbiotic S3-125 robot arm at some of its distribution centers in North America.
Working With Symbiotic
Walmart has been working with Symbiotic, a Massachusetts-based robotics company founded in 2015, since 2017, when it piloted the software in one of its warehouses in Arkansas. It later expanded the pilot program to three additional facilities — all within six months — before deploying it across the country over the next several years.
Symbiotic was founded in 2012 by former iRobot engineers who wanted to start a new company that could focus purely on industrial robotics. The first generation of S3 robots was primarily designed for manufacturing environments, where they can be used for tasks like spot welding or painting cars or airplanes. This new version is designed specifically for warehouse environments. It can handle much heavier loads and navigate around obstacles without getting stuck or damaging the product being handled (or itself).
Walmart has been testing out this technology for over two years now. The idea is that by automating certain jobs, employees can focus on more challenging tasks like managing inventory.
