UK-based tech company Ocado Intelligent Automation has launched its new pallet-moving autonomous mobile robot (AMR) Porter, which features AI capabilities allowing it to modify its operations to cater for different sized pallets in the one environment.

Ocado says Porter’s advanced vision system enables it to navigate safely and autonomously without requiring infrastructure changes or manual intervention, moves at speeds of up to 4.5 miles (7.2km) per hour, and dynamically adjusts its speed when detecting people or equipment in the area.

Ocado’s director of AMR Solutions, Jeff Larsen, told Forkliftaction News at ProMat in Chicago, that Porter is a larger version of the company’s Chuck AMR and would help warehouse operators to manage skilled staff shortages with automation.

“With its AI, Porter is able to sense and detect what kind of pallet is in front of it and learn how to pick up,” Larsen adds. “It can pick up any pallet on the ground, using machine learning to adapt to the environment it is in.”

Porter also features an onboard touchscreen with live-camera view, a 1,500kg payload capacity, dynamic task-switching software and a counterbalance-free design with a tight turning radius.