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Inside the automated warehouse where robots are packing your groceries

Dominic Preston

created: Aug. 10, 2025, 2 p.m. | updated: Aug. 11, 2025, 1:11 p.m.

For an industrial space, this is eerily quiet, but it makes sense in a building where robots might outnumber people. I’m at a warehouse — or customer fulfilment center (CFC) — operated by online grocery company Ocado in Luton, just outside London. Image: Ocado A small suction cup is all it needs to pick up over a third of the groceries Ocado delivers. Dubbed On-Grid Robotic Pick (OGRP), each arm is fitted with a small suction cup on one end. Wine bottles and watermelons are too heavy for the current suction cup to handle, and a gripper might cause damage.

1 week ago: The Verge