Picking up products, placing them on shelves and repeating the same movements for hours. At a Føtex supermarket near Copenhagen, robots are learning to perform one of the most time-consuming jobs in retail.
Developed by Danish start-up Hive Robots and built by China’s Unitree, the machines have been training since June. For now, human operators guide every movement, helping the artificial intelligence learn how to handle different products.
The ambition is to have them restocking shelves independently by early 2027, working mainly at night when the supermarket is closed.
The experiment is part of a wider trial with Salling Group, Denmark’s largest retailer, which has more than 2,000 stores in six European countries.
According to Føtex, workers spend between 40 and 50 per cent of their time replenishing shelves. The retailer hopes robots will eventually take on some of this repetitive physical work, giving employees more time to assist customers.
The machines could later check expiry dates, identify empty shelves and spot misplaced goods. But they still work more slowly than people and need close supervision.
Danish law would also have to change before robots could operate autonomously among shoppers. For now, the focus remains on night-time work and tasks away from customers.