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AutoStore expands hardware and AI software portfolio in push toward autonomous fulfillment. Discover more Source Robotics Manufacturing Automation Solutions AutoStore has unveiled a series of new and upgraded hardware and software products designed to reduce manual intervention in warehouse operations and move its automated storage systems closer to "lights-out" fulfillment. The company's Fall 2026 product announcement includes new technology for handling different bin and case sizes, robotic picking for smaller businesses, AI-assisted system design and investment planning, and predictive maintenance capabilities. AutoStore says the additions build on its CubeVerse software platform and AutoStore Intelligence technology, which it introduced earlier this year as part of a broader strategy to increase the autonomy of fulfillment operations. Parth Joshi, chief product officer and president at AutoStore, says: "Autonomy should not require businesses to take a leap of faith. "The opportunity is to remove the practical barriers one by one. That means reducing variability, manual handoffs and the operational effort required to keep automated systems running. Discover more Robotics News Subscription Automation Consulting Service Industrial Robot Sales "What we hear directly from customers is also driving us to bring more workflows and use cases onto the AutoStore platform, from buffering and case handling to automated piece picking." Among the new products is FlexBinsPort, which allows all standard AutoStore bin heights to be handled at a single workstation. AutoStore estimates that the system can improve storage utilization by 10-15 percent while increasing labor efficiency. FlexBinsPort is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company is also expanding AutoCase, its technology for combining case and individual-item picking within an AutoStore installation. From the first quarter of 2027, AutoCase will support cases measuring up to 600 x 400 mm. Multiple AutoCase stations will also be able to work on the same task group simultaneously, creating a continuous case flow for processes such as palletizing and packaging. AutoCase is already in production use at Nowaste Logistics in Sweden and Komplett in Norway. AutoStore is extending robotic piece picking to smaller businesses through Pio Pal, offered through a Robotics-as-a-Service model. The company says the system can achieve packing throughput of up to 540 order lines per hour for pre-picked orders. New pre-picking capabilities can increase performance by up to three times without additional labor, according to AutoStore. Pio Pal is already operating at Norwegian apparel company Famme, with further deployments planned for the first quarter of 2027. AutoStore is also expanding its VersaAI robotic piece-picking technology with automated item induction, workstation barcode scanning and robotic cycle counting for inventory validation. On the software side, CubeExplore uses generative AI, operational benchmarks and comparable project data to model potential returns on AutoStore investments. AutoStore Intelligence within CubeStudio adds an AI-powered design assistant for comparing warehouse system configurations before deployment. The company is also introducing CubeFleet, which combines maintenance alerts, guidance and work-order creation within a fleet management system covering individual sites or multiple facilities. CubeFleet uses live data from the CubeAnalytics platform and predefined maintenance thresholds to identify equipment requiring attention. AutoStore estimates that the technology could reduce unplanned downtime by 35-45 percent. Joshi says: "Together, these steps move us closer to lights-out fulfillment. It is not one giant leap, but a series of practical advances that make greater autonomy increasingly achievable."

Ocado selling off robotic grid-pick system ahead of Erith site closure. Ocado is putting a half-acre sized robotic picking grid up for sale ahead of the closure of one of its distribution centres in Erith next year. The automated picking system comes with close to 100 robots and can be reconfigured to fit the buyer's own warehouse. The system is within one of Ocado's specialised general merchandise distribution centres, located alongside its main CFC in Erith, in south-east London. It was installed in 2017, becoming operational the following year, to handle non-food products sold through Ocado.com such as kitchenware, homeware and small electronics. Explore related questions. However, advances in Ocado's technology means these non-food products can now be handled in Ocado's main Erith CFC, without the need for a separate facility. Ocado workers at the site were told of the closure - planned for spring 2027 - in June. They are being transferred to the main Erith CFC in phases. Curiously, the system on sale is an AutoStore one - a company with which Ocado was locked in a long-running legal battle over patents. In 2023, AutoStore agreed to pay Ocado Group £200m over two years to bring an end to a three-year patent dispute between the two companies. The robotics rivals announced a "complete settlement of all claims" in their global legal wranglings over patents "avoiding further litigation and associated costs". Norwegian company AutoStore in 2020 claimed Ocado's Smart Platform system, which is used across Ocado's highly automated warehouses, was based on its patented technology. "Our ownership of the technology at the heart of Ocado's warehousing system is clear," said AutoStore CEO and president Karl Johan Lier at the time. Ocado said at the time that AutoStore's decision to sue "was a complete waste of time - for us and them". The Grocer understands a site visit is being planned in a couple of weeks for potential purchases to see the system in action. THG Fulfil extends AutoStore distributor deal. THG Ingenuity's fulfillment service THG Fulfil has announced an expansion of its distribution partnership with AutoStore, meaning it can offer picking systems to clients through both traditional capex ownership as well as its a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. The expanded agreement gives THG Fulfil global distribution rights for the entire AutoStore product range under the capex model. "Automation should never force brands to choose between control and cash flow," said Tom Killeen, COO, THG Ingenuity. "Our AutoStore distribution offering was originally built around a RaaS model because, for many of our clients, protecting capital while scaling automation was the right call. But as more ambitious brands are ready to own their automation outright, we wanted to give them that option too, without losing any of the design, integration, software and operational expertise that comes with working with THG Fulfil. "It provides CFOs with the ability to assess the merits of both a RaaS and capex route, so we can meet brands and retailers wherever they are in their automation journey," he added. THG Fulfil operates 796 AutoStore robots across its own fulfilment network and has integrated the AutoStore system with its own proprietary warehouse software. It has recently built an AutoStore system for Footasylum, comprising 85 AutoStore R5 robots across more than 96,000 bin locations, storing the retailer's entire live SKU range. Latest. Partner features. No comments yet. You will be able to: * Read more stories * Receive daily newsletters * Comment on stories