Pneumatic-suction robot clears 75,000 lb of cargo an hour
It'll likely be a while before we have humanoid robots taking over our household chores, but what you can count on sooner is seeing more robots in industrial settings, like factories and warehouses.
Robots already move pallets and bins of goods across warehouse floors, replacing forklifts. There are also articulated arms involved in packaging tasks, and even assembly operations.
A startup founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alumni wants these bots to do some heavy lifting, literally. Pickle Robot Company's robot systems feature AI smarts, cameras, sensors, and enormous single-armed machines to unload shipping containers filled with cases weighing up to 50 lb (22.5 kg) each.
A Day in the Life at Pickle RobotWhat's interesting about these robots is how they operate: instead of grabbing boxes with pincers that might damage their contents, Pickle's robot arms are fitted with a high-contact-area pneumatic-suction system to securely grip cases of different sizes from a container or truck, and place them safely onto a conveyor belt.
That allows the robot arm to handle packages ranging from 5-in (13-cm) cubes to 24 x 30-in (61 x 76-cm) boxes, and unload as many as 1,500 of them per hour. And its vacuum-powered gripping system allows it to grasp packages located anywhere in a shipping container, even those near the ceiling or close to the container walls. It's been in the works for several years now, so Pickle has had time to work out the kinks in how the robot functions and how much human oversight it requires.
The robot moves and rotates autonomously, unloading shipping containers housing up to 1,200 boxes, each of which can weigh 50 lb
Pickle Robot CompanyThe idea is to negate the need to involve workers in repetitive tasks, which can get exhausting in warm weather, and lead to injuries and high employee turnover. A typical shipping container holds between 800-1,200 cases each, and that can be draining and difficult even for experienced workers. The AI powering Pickle robots works with an array of sensors and cameras to tackle complex loading paths, and also to develop custom models for customers' specific needs.
The leadership team at Pickle includes folks who were behind Google's attempt at building a modular smartphone, and the Charlestown, Massachusetts-based firm has grown to 130 employees since it was founded in 2018. Its primary offering is the aforementioned customized US$30,000 robot arm from German firm Kuka, along with a steel frame to support it, the camera and sensor suite, and software to manage the robot's operations.
Pickle's robot can negate the need to task workers with the repetitive, difficult, and dangerous task of unloading shipping containers
Pickle Robot CompanyPickle says it's already working with the likes of UPS, Yusen Logistics, and Randa Apparel; one of its robots has been at work in the lattermost's fulfillment center since mid-October, and has unloaded more than 1.5 million lb (0.7 million kg) of packaged clothing and accessories.
Having closed a $50 million Series B funding round last November, the company's next moves involve building out a software platform to integrate with third-party hardware like humanoid robots and self-driving forklifts, and to develop a two-armed robot thereafter.
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Abhimanyu has been a trusted voice in the science, technology, transport innovations, startup and AI spaces for more than a decade at several global outlets, including three and a half years as the managing editor at TNW. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Psychology and Sociology. When he's not writing about breakthroughs in science and tech, he's usually out motorcycling around South India.
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paul314 December 9, 2025 08:42 AMGoing to need a minimum cardboard strength for that to work consistently, or some way of getting a support underneath the carton as it is pulled out. Shippers have been reducing the eight and strength of cardboard for a while, which is good for profits and reduces disposable paper use, but cartons have been getting more fragile as a result.
BIGJIM389 December 10, 2025 01:19 PMThis company might want to be aware of the "Asian Elephant" robot by Bluesword. Does basically the same thing with an integrated conveyor and seems to be able to handle more fragile cartons that the first commenter mentioned. It is also an actual product already. I see some advantages to the robot arm concept in this article (being able to pick from any direction) but the "Asian Elephant" seems to do a great job in the videos I have watched.
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