Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s automation efforts go far beyond its reported talks with Microsoft Corp. about building cashier-free stores.

The company today revealed plans to deploy a specialized warehouse robot as part of a pilot program focused on speeding up grocery pickups for online shoppers. Dubbed Alphabot, the system (pictured) was born from a partnership between Walmart and Alert Innovation Inc., a retail automation startup based in North Billerica, Massachusetts.

The trial is set to launch by the end of the year at the retail giant’s Salem, New Hampshire superstore. The location is currently undergoing a high-tech renovation that will see Walmart deploy several other new automation technologies besides Alphabot. Among them is another custom-made robot that can scan store shelves for out-of-stock items.

Walmart won’t operate Alphabot directly inside the store alongside the shelf-scanning robot. Instead, the company plans to set up the system in a 20,000-square-foot extension next to the building that will serve as a dedicated pick-up point.

Multiple Alphabots will work alongside store employees to retrieve items from shelves. A video released by Walmart (below) shows units traversing on the floor of what is presumably the extension building, as well as being shuffled around on an elaborate system of elevated rails and elevators.

After retrieving an item, Alphabots will carry it to one of four “pick stations.” That’s where Walmart employees will sort and package the goods based on each customer’s order. Walmart expects most merchandise to be processed this way at the facility with the exception of fresh items such as produce.

“Although this is a small pilot, we expect big things from it,” Mark Ibbotson, Walmart’s executive vice president of central operations, wrote in today’s announcement. “We have a lot to learn about this new technology, and we’re excited about the possibilities of how we can use it to make the future of shopping – and working – even better.”

If the pilot proves successful, Walmart may roll out Alphabots to the growing number of other stores where it lets customers pick up items they order online. The company expects to have 2,200 locations participating in the program by the end of the year, up from just 600 in 2016. This effort to make grocery shopping more convenient constitutes a key part of how Walmart is pushing back against Amazon.com Inc.’s rapid rise. 

Photo: Walmart