UPS to spend $120M on 400 Pickle truck unloading robots

United Parcel Service Inc. plans to invest $120 million to purchase around 400 truck-unloading robots from Pickle Robot Co., according to Bloomberg.

The parcel company reportedly hopes the robots will ease one of the most manual and labor-intensive warehouse jobs — unloading trucks and shipping containers.

Pickle’s trailer-unloading robots feature one robotic arm that can pick up boxes weighing up to 50 lb. (22.5 kg). The robot then places the boxes on an onboard conveyor belt for transport into the warehouse.

Charlestown, Mass.-based Pickle said that physical artificial intelligence, which combines generative AI, transformers, and large foundation models, is the cornerstone of its robotic systems.

The company explained that it takes a “synchronized” approach to hardware and software development. This approach is built on a foundation of generative AI and machine vision.

On the hardware side, the company combines advanced software with industrial robot arms and engineered components. Pickle said it uses robotic grippers with path-planning software to pick and place packages at human or better-than-human speed.

The suction-based grippers can pick up large, heavy packages no matter the location or freight configuration, Pickle Robot claimed. The system uses KUKA robot arms and works with commercially available conveyors.

UPS doubles down on its automation strategy

This latest investment is part of UPS‘s “Network of the Future” initiative. Launched in 2024, this initiative aims to save UPS $3 billion by the end of 2028 by shifting to automated package hubs. The company also plans to invest $9 billion in automation in the coming years.

As part of the plan, UPS is investing in 63 automation projects across the U.S. The Atlanta-based company said it hopes to more than triple the number of automated buildings in its network by the end of 2028.

UPS isn’t just investing in automation to achieve this plan. So far, the company has closed daily operations at 93 facilities and cut 34,000 jobs this year. The company said these closures will help it reduce fixed costs and scale back lower-margin e-commerce volumes.

The new Pickle robots are far from the only automation UPS deploys. The company also uses pick-and-place technologies from Dexterity, Fortna, and Plus One Robotics to move smaller packages in its facilities.

UPS also uses mobile robots from Geek+, Locus Robotics, Crown Equipment, and Toyota-Raymond. These robots help it move irregularly sized items. In addition, UPS has used inventory drones from Verity.