Mobile manipulation is starting to scale in response to supply chain challenges. Locus Robotics today announced at MODEX the global launch of Locus Array. The system combines a mobile robot, an integrated picking arm, and AI-powered perception for autonomous execution.
“The No. 1 problem facing supply chains today is uncertainty,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Whether it’s COVID-19, peak seasons, or tariffs, costs have climbed while productivity hasn’t.”
“Warehouse operations are facing increasing pressure from labor constraints, rising costs, and constant variability that traditional systems can’t absorb,” he said. “Locus Array brings autonomy into real-world operations at scale, introducing a fundamentally different, system-level approach designed to solve these challenges at their core.”
“Array is a step toward a facility that runs itself, a holy grail of warehousing,” Faulk told Automated Warehouse. “Array is the culmination of our 10-year roadmap, from humans plus the LocusBots to deploying 17,000 AMRs and assisting in more than 7 billion picks. We looked at design and workflows in multiple buildings in very disciplined ways to have the flexibility to scale up and down.”
Quiet Logistics was an early adopter of Kiva Systems‘ mobile robots, but in 2012, Amazon bought Kiva and took its robots off the market for its own needs. Quiet Logistics used its experience as a third-party logistics provider (3PL) to create Locus Robotics. It surpassed 6 billion robot-assisted picks in October 2025.
The company now serves more than 150 customers at over 350 facilities in 20 countries, noted Peter Ashe, senior vice president for operations at Locus. “Sixty percent of medical supplies, such as artificial knees, use Locus robots for next-day shipping to healthcare facilities across the U.S.,” he said.
Locus is looking to bring Array to Europe and Asia-Pacific, Ashe added.
Locus Array enables robot-to-goods workflows
Locus said Array provides its customers the following capabilities:
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- Rapid, high-density throughput with streamlined order fulfillment: The system, first shown at ProMAT last year, processes orders in parallel and consolidates work directly in the aisle, increasing throughput and supporting round-the-clock operations.
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- Autonomous execution across multiple workflows: Faulk said Array can handle picking, putaway, induction, drop-off, slotting, and replenishment, reducing manual labor by 90%.
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- Faster time to value with minimal disruption: Array can be deployed in weeks rather than months without redesigning facilities or adding complex infrastructure, asserted Locus.
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- Flexible, scalable performance in dynamic environments: The integrated system is designed to scale with volume and adapt to changing layouts, SKUs, and demand without reworking workflows.
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- Coordinated, multi-robot execution: Array works with the Locus Origin (released in 2016) and Vector (released in 2023) AMRs to cover 100% of SKUs within a single, unified system. Locus said it can deliver a rapid return on investment (ROI) with its scalable, low upfront cost robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model.
Together, these capabilities introduce a new category of warehouse automation: robots-to-goods (R2G), claimed Locus. In this model, smart robots like Locus Array go directly to inventory and execute fulfillment tasks within the aisle.
By embedding multiple workflows directly into the robot, R2G expands automation beyond assisted processes to become fully autonomous, according to Locus. “This minimizes travel, maintains continuous SKU availability, while also enabling higher storage density within existing warehouse layouts,” it said.
“Unlike person to goods or goods to person [G2P], in our system, the robots travel, and the racks of inventory don’t have to,” Ashe continued.
Also, unlike some automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), items will not get stuck in the grid if there is a power failure or larger or hazardous products are involved. Manual picking is still possible, if less efficient, he added.
LocusONE uses physical AI to unify the robot fleet
The LocusONE platform uses artificial intelligence to orchestrate Locus Array as part of a unified fleet alongside the Locus Origin and Vector AMRs. It dynamically assigns work based on real-time demand, coordinating robots, workflows, and inventory movement as a single system that scales and adapts with operations over time.
Locus said LocusONE “delivers consistent performance and the operational confidence required to outperform in an uncertain environment.” With foundation models and inference running on NVIDIA technology on the edge, LocusINTELLIGENCE helps optimize customer operations.
“Physical AI has arrived,” declared Faulk. “Nobody else is doing this at the same scale with vision models getting smarter and more efficient. Our great differentiator is that we’re not coming out of a lab but from real-world deployments. Array can perceive, reason, and act.”
“Picking has traditionally been one of the hardest tasks to automate,” said Kait Peterson, vice president and head of marketing at Locus. “With LocusONE, the system is continually learning for the lowest cost per pick.”
DHL Supply Chain expands partnership with Array
Among the customers already using Locus Array in live operations is DHL Supply Chain, a long-standing global customer of Locus Robotics. It recently completed 1 billion picks with Locus systems and deployed its first Array at a site in Columbus, Ohio.
“Innovation is only real when it’s scaled; otherwise, it’s just a nice idea,” Tim Tetzlaff, global head of digital transformation at DHL, told Automated Warehouse. “Since we announced the 1 billionth pick — a pink beanie in Las Vegas on Feb. 12 — we made 21 million more in the following three to four weeks. Locus is a key component of our enterprise infrastructure. Picking is a huge opportunity because it requires a lot of labor.”
At DHL, three Arrays use omnidirectional wheels to retrieve totes weighing up to 66 lb. (29.9 kg) from standard, double-deep racking up to 10 ft. (3 m) high and pass them to Origin and Vector robots. Locus said the mobile manipulators can pick 60% to 70% of e-commerce SKUs, including 30% of polybags. It can also act as a buffer for batch picking and sortation.
“The launch of the Locus Array marks a pivotal moment in DHL’s accelerated digitalization journey, moving us beyond traditional assisted picking into a new era of high-density, autonomous fulfillment,” stated Sally Miller, global chief information officer at DHL Supply Chain.
“By being the first to deploy Locus Array, we are not just addressing today’s labor and capacity challenges; we are actively engineering a more agile supply chain,” she added. “This innovation allows us to maximize vertical space and dramatically reduce manual touches, ensuring that we continue to provide our customers with the speed and reliability they expect from the world’s logistics leader.”
The companies continue to have quarterly meetings to look at the health of the operations and any IT upgrades. “We talk a lot about flexibility, but resiliency is another aspect of support that DHL provides to retailers,” said Faulk.
Attendees at MODEX in Atlanta this week can see Locus Array at Booth B10704. In addition, DHL is working with companies such as AutoStore, Boston Dynamics, and SVT Robotics, which will also be at the supply chain event.
Editor’s note: Jasmine Lombardi, chief customer officer at Locus Robotics, will participate in the opening keynote panel on “Building Reliable Robots at Scale” at next month’s Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston. Registration is now open.
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