{"id":83238,"title":"🤖 AutoPallet Robotics: The future of case picking in warehouses","tagline":"AutoPallet Robotics uses swarms of hundreds of mobile robots to do case picking in existing warehouses.","body":"# TL;DR\n\n* AutoPallet Robotics unlocks automated case picking for existing warehouses. Our novel system delivers rapid ROI by leveraging the current infrastructure to deploy swarms of hundreds of small, agile, mobile robots.\n* Want to get in touch? [**connect@autopallet.bot**](mailto:connect@autopallet.bot) or [send us an inquiry](https://forms.gle/YT1XLadSpWaKAa668)\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=83238\u0026key=user_uploads/242906/61c0e05b-c2d2-470a-8248-dcb394bbaeaa)\n\n# The Team\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=83238\u0026key=user_uploads/242906/0e93dfda-da4f-43f2-8170-dcbef1c80b90)\n\n**Nathan and Eric** met at Olin College of Engineering 9 years ago, where they collaborated on over 15 projects.\n\n**COO** - [Nathan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielyee/) brings four years of experience in machine learning. In his previous position, he worked on robot software and explored heuristic-based and RL-based methods for multi-robot scheduling.\n\n**CEO** - [Eric](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olin-eric/) has extensive experience creating hardware, electronics, and software for modern robotics systems, including five years at Skydio, founding and growing the Autonomy Infrastructure team.\n\n# The Problem\n\n**Case picking for order selecting**, a critical task in the supply chain for grocery stores, retail, and restaurants, remains largely manual in U.S. warehouses. We estimate that **over 30 billion cases** are manually moved between pallets annually, resulting in labor costs exceeding **$10 billion** each year.\n\nCurrent automation solutions are prohibitively expensive and fall into two main categories:\n\n1. **Build a new warehouse** with extensive conveyor belt systems, industrial robot arms, and high-density case storage. Costs range from **$100M to $350M per warehouse**.\n2. **Install large mobile robots** that directly replace humans in existing warehouses at a cost of **$300k to $500k per unit**. This high capital expenditure and long ROI period make them infeasible for many businesses.\n\n## Our Solution Is Fundamentally Different\n\nWe've developed a way to retrofit existing warehouse infrastructure with swarms of affordable, agile robots to automate the order-selecting process. This approach eliminates the need to rebuild warehouses from scratch or invest in expensive large mobile robots. We are designing our system to:\n\n* **Meet or exceed** your current throughput—our robots work in swarms, easily picking tens of thousands of cases per shift.\n* Ensure **resilience** through a decentralized swarm that continues operating even if several robots fail.\n* Optimize **multi-stop deliveries** and create **maximally dense pallets** using an **AI-powered** pallet-building algorithm.\n* Deliver a typical ROI in **less than** **12 months**.\n\n## How You Can Help\n\nWe’re actively seeking **partnerships and collaborations** to propel our mission forward. If you or anyone in your network is interested in exploring opportunities or learning more, we’d love to connect! We’re especially interested in engaging with:\n\n* Retailers and 3PLs operating distribution centers\n* Grocery and Broadline Foodservice Distributors\n\nIf this resonates with you or someone you know, please don’t hesitate to reach out! [**connect@autopallet.bot**](mailto:connect@autopallet.bot) or [send us an inquiry](https://forms.gle/YT1XLadSpWaKAa668)","slug":"LeY-autopallet-robotics-the-future-of-case-picking-in-warehouses","created_at":"2024-08-20T18:44:31.152Z","updated_at":"2026-05-25T02:11:40.784Z","total_vote_count":27,"url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/LeY-autopallet-robotics-the-future-of-case-picking-in-warehouses","share_image_url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/media/?type=post\u0026id=83238\u0026key=user_uploads/242906/61c0e05b-c2d2-470a-8248-dcb394bbaeaa","company":{"id":29698,"name":"AutoPallet Robotics","slug":"autopallet-robotics","url":"https://autopallet.bot","logo":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/d2f0c4ca0e1ee62abec263fe32fc601c69e08139.png","batch":"Summer 2024","industry":"Industrials","tags":["Hard Tech","Machine Learning","Warehouse Management Tech","Swarm Robotics","Automation"],"search_path":"https://bookface.ycombinator.com/company/29698"}}