Brightpick said Autopicker robots unlock lights-out fulfillment in the warehouse

Brightpick, a provider of AI-powered robotic warehouse automation offerings, announced that its Autopicker robots now enable lights-out overnight fulfillment.

With the company’s latest software upgrades to its fleet, including Physical AI and picking-in-motion, Brightpick said its Autopicker robots can autonomously pick and buffer orders without human intervention, eliminating the need for overnight staffing and enabling companies to extend their operating hours at no additional cost.

Minimal staff, maximum efficiency through robotics

The company said this breakthrough allows warehouses to run continuously, even during night shifts and weekends, without human intervention. Orders picked overnight are autonomously buffered inside the Brightpick system, ready for immediate packing and shipping at the start of the next shift, increasing warehouse throughput and accelerating order delivery.

Brightpick said that multiple customers, such as The Feed, are already benefiting from fully automated overnight operations, with more warehouses expected soon.

“Autopicker robots are a game-changer for logistics operations seeking to expand throughput without adding cost,” said Jan Zizka, co-founder and CEO of Brightpick. “By enabling lights-out overnight operation, the toughest shift to find staff for, we help our customers maximize the productivity of their investment and unlock the full value of automation around the clock.”

Night shifts are often the most challenging and costly for companies to staff. With Autopicker, Brightpick said warehouses can extend their operations overnight with only a small number of supervisory staff on-site, reducing reliance on shift workers and temporary labor, especially during the holiday peak season. Extending operations overnight also speeds up delivery times and improves customer satisfaction.

AI-enabled robots optimize fulfillment

Autopicker robots use AI-powered decision-making and a mobile robotic arm to pick individual items from shelves and totes autonomously. With advanced 3D vision and force-sensing grippers, Brightpick said the robots operate with human-like dexterity, navigating aisles and shelves using lidar sensors and AI, even in low-light environments.

Brightpick said its Intuition AI software empowers each robot to see, think and act with human-like responsiveness and adaptability. Intuition continuously evaluates what’s happening across the warehouse and directs each robot to its next task. Embedded within Intuition is Physical AI, a suite of proprietary AI models that enable Autopicker to understand and adapt to its surroundings with human-like judgment.

In June, Brightpick unveiled Autopicker 2.0, which compared to the company's first-generation model, boosts throughput by 50% per robot - thanks to 40% faster picking and a 20% increase in travel speed. Brightpick said this equates to an average of 70 to 80 picks per hour, matching the productivity of a typical warehouse associate.

Brightpick said its Intuition software coordinates and orchestrates the robots as a fleet, ensuring the optimal robot is assigned to each task in real time. Autopicker robots can also switch between workflows, including picking, order buffering, replenishment and sortation.

Brightpick offers Autopicker systems through both a flexible Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, or as a traditional capex purchase. Customers can hire robots for under $2,000 per month with no large upfront investment via RaaS, which the company said will enable faster ROI and reduced financial risk. Longer-term agreements will reduce the monthly costs.