Five Robotics Failures and What Developers Can Learn From Them

Ocado suffers second warehouse fire

Last week, online grocer Ocado Group PLC acknowledged in a statement that robots caused another warehouse fire, two years after a major fire destroyed its distribution center in Andover, U.K. The February 2019 fire was reportedly caused by an electrical fault in a battery charger and a plastic lid on a mobile robot.

This time, three mobile robots in Ocado’s automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) grid collided. Fortunately, the damage to the Erith, U.K., facility was quickly contained, and nobody was hurt.

Having two incidents result in damage and canceled orders is embarrassing for any robotics developer or user. However, not only did Ocado take measures after the first disaster to correct the immediate problems, but it also applied damage-control practices that may have saved the second center.