Danish supermarket chain trials humanoid robots for shelf-stocking
Hive Robots hopes the machines can replenish selected products independently at night by early 2027, with supermarkets charged by the hour.
Humanoid robots are being trained at a Føtex supermarket in Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, in a multi-year trial aimed at handling routine work after the shop closes. Training started in June at the chain, which belongs to Denmark’s largest retailer, Salling Group.
Danish start-up Hive Robots supplies the software and teaches the machines, while Chinese company Unitree manufactures them. A human operator guides a robot with virtual-reality glasses and handheld controllers, demonstrating how to lift bags of pasta onto shelves. Those movements generate training data for the robots to learn to work independently.
The machines currently work more slowly than supermarket staff. Hive Robots says improvements in artificial intelligence will increase their speed and accuracy, and that their human-like limbs allow them to use existing shop layouts. The start-up hopes to offer autonomous overnight restocking of some products by early 2027, charging stores an hourly fee.
Salling Group says the trial is intended to assist staff, not replace them. Føtex estimates that shelf replenishment takes up 40 to 50 per cent of employees’ time, while Hive Robots says recruiting young people for that work is difficult. Føtex operations director Simon Kudsk said deployment across every store could take up to five years. Other possible duties include spotting absent or incorrectly placed goods, clearing empty cardboard boxes and inspecting best-before dates.
