Walmart Robots Process Orders 10 Times Faster Than Humans

The world’s largest retailer is actively testing the system of automatic processing of online orders. While the technology is used only in a small warehouse in the town of Salem, NH, it can provide the company an advantage over competitors, analysts say.

The sphere of trade and delivery of goods is becoming increasingly high-tech. In order to keep up with competitors, even the largest retailers must change. For example, Walmart, the US trade leader, has been actively testing a robotic approach to processing online orders for several months.

The Alphabot pilot system, which Business Insider talks about, is being tested in the small town of Salem, New Hampshire. At a local Walmart warehouse with an area of ​​about two thousand square meters, there are shelves for storing products that are most often ordered online.

Fresh food, such as apples or lettuce, currently is still being picked up by human employees in baskets. However, canned food, frozen food, and non-food items are now dealt with by robots. There are 30 of them, but soon there will be 50.

Each Alphabot robot is a machine 60 cm high and 80 cm long, which moves on the floor on small wheels and independently climbs onto shelves. This allows the Alphabot to collect an order 10 times faster than a person.

Walmart has no plans to deploy a system nationwide. However, analysts note that Alphabot is far ahead of similar technologies that competitors use. The main advantage may be the rejection of huge warehouses in favor of relatively small ones. This will reduce costs and allow you to locate warehouses closer to customers.