Logistics

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are becoming invaluable tools for warehouse leaders looking to increase efficiency, accuracy and safety in their facilities. A successful implementation involves more than just the robots themselves; it requires a holistic approach that integrates hardware, software, and human elements seamlessly into existing operations. When choosing an integrator for your deployment, it’s crucial to find one that brings a comprehensive scope to the table, ensuring that AMRs are not only implemented efficiently but also optimized for peak performance. Integrators provide customized solutions that align with unique operational goals, enhance workflow efficiency and drive overall productivity. By leveraging their expertise in system design, process integration and change management, integrators help organizations unlock the full potential of AMR technology, fostering innovation and maintaining a competitive edge in an ever-evolving market. With the right partner, businesses can transform their operations, creating a resilient and adaptive infrastructure ready for future challenges.

Most conversations about warehouse automation focus on the technology, but not enough attention is paid to what it takes to make automation actually work in real-world environments. That means dealing with unpredictable environments, legacy systems, and shifting human workflows.

In this session, Anthony Jules, CEO of Robust.AI, draws on decades of experience in robotics to explore what it really takes to bring automation into complex warehouse environments. He’ll share practical insights from the field on what makes or breaks successful implementations, ranging from design decisions that support collaborative robots to the organizational changes required for adoption. Additionally, Anthony will discuss the real barriers to automation, the importance of making systems intuitive, and how to think about automation not as a replacement, but as a partner for human workers.

AI is becoming a core enabler of modern material handling systems, allowing OEMs and integrators to move beyond fixed automation toward more adaptive, scalable solutions. Across picking, mobility, and system operations, AI is improving precision, throughput, and flexibility in real-world deployments.

In robotic picking, AI-driven perception and adaptive grasping—paired with intelligent end-of-arm tooling—enable reliable handling of diverse items while reducing mis-picks and damage. For autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), AI-based navigation and planning support safe operation in dynamic, human-populated environments, with real-time route optimization and 24/7 scalability. At the system level, AI-powered predictive analytics help reduce downtime by identifying potential failures before they disrupt operations.

This session will examine how OEMs and integrators are applying AI in production material handling systems, with practical insights into robotic picking and grasping, AMR navigation and fleet behavior, and predictive maintenance. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of where AI delivers real value today, how these capabilities are engineered and integrated, and what it takes to deploy them at scale.

For decades, fully automated “lights-out” warehouses have captured our imagination, but the reality remained out of reach. Recent advances in robotics and AI are changing that, making lights-out execution viable in specific workflows and environments.

Progress will be incremental. Today, the most effective approach is hybrid: robots handle the bulk of repetitive work, while humans step in only when needed. This model already supports partial lights-out operations—such as running an unsupervised night shift while managing peak volumes and exceptions during the day.

The challenge is not just technical, but economic. Automating the final 10–20% of workflows, where edge cases and judgment calls live, is disproportionately complex and costly. Smart operators focus automation where ROI is strongest, preserve human flexibility where it adds the most value, and steadily reduce the exception set as technology and economics improve.

In this session, Brightpick CEO Jan Zizka outlines a practical roadmap to lights-out warehouse operations: where it works today, how to expand it safely and profitably, and what it takes to go fully lights-out.

Moving robots from controlled lab settings into live customer environments exposes challenges and stress that no one can predict. This session breaks down the lessons learned in making warehouse robots not only reliable, but also commercially viable. From hardware durability to autonomy edge cases and customer integration, we’ll share the learnings from what it really takes to deploy robots that perform during shifts, day after day.