Warehouse robotics company Locus Robotics has acquired fellow US firm Waypoint Robotics, a specialist in industrial-strength, autonomous, omnidirectional mobile robots.

Massachusetts-based Locus makes autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for fulfilment warehouses.

“Locus is the proven leader in the development of highly productive and innovative AMR technology that efficiently solves our customers’ needs for total warehouse optimisation,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “As order fulfilment and labour shortages continue to grow around the world, the acquisition of Waypoint Robotics will accelerate our ability to meet these global needs in just months rather than years, helping us drive the digital transformation of the warehouse.”

The acquisition broadens the Locus product line of AMRs that address use cases from ecommerce, case-picking and pallet-picking to scenarios requiring larger, heavier payloads and fulfilment modalities.

“Waypoint shares Locus’s commitment to technology excellence in pursuit of customer success,” said Jason Walker, CEO of New Hampshire-based Waypoint Robotics. “We’re excited to contribute to the expansion of the Locus product family in order to deliver a broader range of solutions, as well as access to new market segments.”

Waypoint’s Vector and MAV3K are industrial-strength, flexible mobile robot platforms that feature omnidirectional mobility, and can be fitted with a variety of modules and attachments, making them versatile and scalable for a host of applications. They are interoperable with other robots, and can communicate with machines and IoT devices throughout a facility.

DHL, the world’s largest logistics company with over 1400 warehouses and offices in more than 55 countries and territories, had recently signed a 2000 bot deal with Locus as part of its efforts to digitalise its supply chain processes.

“DHL Supply Chain and Locus Robotics have established a productive partnership based on a highly successful integration of the Locus autonomous mobile robot into our customers’ operations, and we value the emphasis they have placed on listening to our needs,” said Sally Miller, CIO of DHL Supply Chain in North America. “This acquisition, which adds a larger, heavier-weight autonomous robot capability to their portfolio, is a good reflection of how they continue to address the customer requirements at the heart of their strategy. I believe it will open up promising new opportunities in our partnership, support DHL’s ongoing efforts to deploy technologies that improve our customers’ supply chains, and contribute to the continued advancement of a competitive robotics market.”

Jordan Speer, research manager at IDC Retail Insights, added: “Warehouses and fulfilment centres benefit by harnessing the strengths of humans and robots working in collaboration. These co-botic environments are further optimised when a range of differently skilled AMRs are employed. With the acquisition of Waypoint Robotics, Locus Robotics is able to bring more capability to the fulfilment floor. Furthermore, introducing combinations of differently skilled AMRs that are interoperable with each other enables new functional capabilities where robots hand off product to each other. Without intelligent automation that can handle a wide variety of tasks on the fulfilment floor – including returns, put-away and sortation – organisations will not be able to thrive in today’s market.”