A new option for a robotics application that was thought to be too tough to achieve only a few years ago was added today with the unveiling of an automated truck unloading system by tech firm Anyware Robotics.

Anyware Robotics, based in Fremont, California, announced today that it has come out of stealth mode to introduce Pixmo, an AI-powered robotic system for unloading trucks and containers. The company was established in January 2023, raised $5 million in startup money in March 2023, and is currently seeking further funds to quicken the launch.

The Pixmo product is intended for a market that, according to the company, consists of the 28 million or more containers that arrive in the United States annually carrying boxes that need to be unloaded. According to the company, its robots help businesses reduce the strain that human workers currently bear when unloading those products. The robots can autonomously empty boxes in trucks and containers faster, more efficiently, safely, and with less injuries sustained at work than humans can.

The apparatus comprises an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) base, a six-degree-of-freedom cobot arm, a vacuum-powered end effector intended for case handling, and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered motion planning and perception algorithms, all assembled on a mobile base with the dimensions of a warehouse pallet.

Anyware Robotics is now conducting Pixmo pilot trials with a number of US companies. They have many forthcoming pilots, one of which is with a multinational third-party logistics provider (3PL), and they have just finished their first pilot with an import deconsolidation company that oversees 21 warehouses. Installation of the mobile autonomous Pixmo robots is intended for transload facilities, cross docks, distribution centers, 3PLs, and e-commerce fulfillment warehouses.