
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