Tim Culverhouse | Peerless Media
The new Ocado Intelligent Automation (OIA) Porter autonomous pallet moving robot debuted at ProMat 2025 in Chicago.
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Tim Culverhouse | Peerless Media
The new Ocado Intelligent Automation (OIA) Porter autonomous pallet moving robot debuted at ProMat 2025 in Chicago.
At ProMat 2025 in Chicago, Ocado Intelligent Automation (OIA), part of Ocado Group, introduced Porter AMR, a pallet-moving autonomous mobile robot (AMR).
OIA said that Porter navigates warehouses to automate several warehouse workflows such as cross-docking, bulk-item picking, putaway, and pallet movement.
The trade show is being held March 17-20 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Ill.
OIA’s patented system-directed software intelligently orchestrates each Porter autonomous pallet-moving robot - or a whole fleet of them - to reduce travel times and avoid warehouse congestion. Ocado’s Fulfillment Execution System (FES) groups orders to maximize case picking, optimize route plans and reduce steps between picks. Meanwhile, machine learning prioritizes and plans pallet stacking intelligently to avoid product damage.
“Porter from OIA automates low-value, manual tasks and fosters a more productive workplace by supporting associates, increasing case picking rates and automating the movement of high volumes of inventory,” said Jeff Larson, director of solutions design for Ocado Mobile Robot System at OIA. “Companies in third-party logistics, retail, e-commerce, distribution, and healthcare can maximize warehouse productivity and scale operations up or down easily without depending on manual forklifts and expensive certified forklift drivers.”
Ocado said Porter picks, moves and places pallets directly from the floor with precision, even when they are aligned back-to-back. It recognizes its surroundings to safely handle and transport heavy loads autonomously and can be configured to handle cages, increasing flexibility and expanding fulfillment capabilities.
OIA highlighted the following Porter AMR features:
OIA said that Porter integrates with existing wall-to-wall fulfillment platforms, Warehouse Execution Systems (WES), Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), to prioritize tasks with minimal disruption and increase warehouse productivity.
These systems can collaborate to:
OIA also said Porter's advanced vision system enables it to navigate safely and autonomously without requiring infrastructure changes or manual intervention. Moving at speeds of up to 4.5 miles per hour, the AMR adjusts its speed when it detects people or equipment in the area, ensuring workplace safety. Porter intelligently parallel parks in aisles to reduce congestion, keeping operations seamless for both robots and human associates.
Artificial Intelligence Machine Vision Machine Learning Autonomy Lift Trucks Mobile Robots Components Sensors Cameras Lidar Software Cloud and Edge Data Management Fleet Management News Press Release ASRS Autonomous Mobile Robots Fulfillment Ocado Palletizing ProMat Safety Warehouse Execution Systems WMS
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