A shopping trolley that moves among the shelves like a remote-controlled car. Pallets full of merchandise that get brought in and reorganised by unmanned carts and lifts. Drones peacefully surveying everything, keeping an eye on the situation. The way big commercial warehouses are organised is being transformed – instead of the comings and goings of human beings, the Internet of Things is becoming more and more common, in all its many forms, ensuring everything works as if on a huge, orderly chessboard.

Automation allows us to make the never-ending processes involved in organising, sorting and selecting products cheaper, safer, quicker and more immediate, day or night. Why? Because – unlike people – machines need no training to do their jobs. So what kind of technology is it that’s rewriting the rulebook of company warehouses and e-commerce sorting hubs? What kind of projects are underway? And what else can we expect in the future?

The pieces on the chessboard

Transporting, lifting, selecting – these are all vital actions in the day-to-day running of any warehouse, whether it belongs to a supermarket, a shopping centre or an online store. In order to complete all these activities, robots first of all need to be able to move properly through the work spaces. Some of the most versatile robots – especially when it comes to goods that aren’t too big or unwieldy – are those inspired by robotic vacuum cleaners, like the Roomba. These robots move on wheels (or tracks) and can rotate 360°. The wheels can also be pre-programmed, but nonetheless they are able to safely move around, avoiding temporary obstacles and people thanks to sensors that give them their sense of sight.

They can even grab goods when equipped with “arms and hands” that can be adapted as and when to fit the objects in question. Depending on what they need to pick up, these robotic warehouse operators must be designed with the correct proportions, materials and capacities to ensure they can properly grip each type of merchandise. It goes without saying that managing the fruit section or receiving a delivery of eggs is completely different to piling up cushions, rugs or reams of paper. This is where the world of industrial robotics intersects with those of anatomy and bionics. Indeed, lots of robotic items are inspired by the natural world and the human body – while we all know about their use in medicine in the form of prosthetics, robotics is now opening up plenty of new opportunities in the logistics sector too.

In addition to the physical functions of robots, one of the most vital components of any robot is – of course – the “mind”, or the management system that operates the robot. Ultra-quick sensors and communication systems allow all the various components of each robot to be fully synchronised, as well as interacting and integrating with everything else in the room. Products approaching the end of their shelf life can be identified and disposed of first, the speed with which actions are carried out can be adjusted on demand and errors can be rapidly discovered by control systems – and everything works automatically, without the ned to check up on every single stage of the process.

All of this responds to specific market needs, not least where there is a huge onus on quick delivery times (see online shopping for a start) and lots of competition between different service providers. Amazon Prime is a great example of this, with the organisation working to turnaround times of no more than a few hours.

Behind the scenes at the big warehouses

Perhaps it’s still hard to image, but many of the big players in commerce are already experimenting with this kind of technology. Take Ocado, for example, the big UK-based online supermarket who – in addition to distributing its own products – is now exporting its technology to others in the sector. DHL, one of the biggest transport companies in the world, has opened its doors to the Fetch robot. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, Amazon is in on the act too. Having bought robot logistics start-up Kiva some years ago, Amazon now has a specific Robotics division tasked with designing and developing new technology to undertake increasingly advanced management and logistics processes.