Danish retailer Salling Group is testing humanoid robots to automate shelf replenishment at its Føtex supermarket banner operation. The multi-year trial, which began in June, is taking place in Lyngby, north of Copenhagen.
The robots are supplied by Chinese manufacturer Unitree, while Danish start-up Hive Robots develops the software and trains the machines. Using virtual reality headsets and handheld controllers, human operators demonstrate how to pick up products and place them on shelves. The data collected, stored on European infrastructure, is then used to train the robots to perform these tasks autonomously.
Føtex Operations Director Simon Kudsk explains that “supermarkets are designed to function optimally for customers moving around the store. This makes traditional industrial robots unsuitable for retail environments.” As far as the solution provider is concerned, real-life supermarkets also present a complex training environment, with varying products and shelf layouts.
Autonomous shelf replenishment expected by 2027
To ensure safe training conditions, fragile items such as glass products are excluded, while training takes place at night to limit interaction with shoppers and store employees. Beyond shelf replenishment, the long-term ambition is for humanoid robots to identify missing or misplaced products, remove empty cardboard boxes and to independently check best-before dates.
Although currently slower than human employees, Hive Robots expects advances in AI and continued training to improve their speed and precision. Even at a slower pace, however, robots can operate around the clock, potentially offering an attractive proposition for retailers facing labour shortages. The start-up hopes its robots will be able to replenish selected products autonomously as early as 2027. Hive Robots would then charge retailers for the service on an hourly basis.
One or two robots per store
“Our vision or the dream right now is that we eventually could have one or two humanoids in every Føtex store that could support our colleagues,” Kudsk stated, adding that such a rollout could take up to five years. Earlier this year, Hive Robots expressed a more ambitious target, envisaging three to five robots per store. Salling group operates some 120 stores under the Føtex banner across Denmark and over 2,100 stores across Europe.
