27/06/2024
Shoppers probably don't think much about what happens next when they place an online grocery order.
But it sets-off an intricate dance of software, artificial intelligence, robots, vans and workers.
At an Ocado warehouse just outside Luton, I'm in the middle of such a dance.
As far as I can see, hundreds of robots whizz around a grid, fetching items for online orders. They move with dizzying speed and precision.
In the early days of online shopping, when you placed an order, humans would dash around a warehouse or a store collecting your items.
But for years now, Ocado has been using robots to collect and distribute products, bringing them to staff, who pack them into boxes for delivery.
And Ocado is not the only firm investing in such automation.
In its warehouses, Asda uses a system from Swiss automation firm Swisslog and Norway's AutoStore. In the US, Walmart has been automating parts of its supply chain using robotics from an American company called Symbotic.
