Comau has designed and validated a robotic order-preparation system in Decathlon’s e-commerce fulfillment environment, providing another example of flexible robotics moving deeper into warehouse picking, handling and palletizing. Developed as part of the European MASTERLY project, the system combines Comau’s MyCo collaborative robot with a ROS2-based software architecture, intelligent sensors, AI-powered vision and a modular gripper. It was tested against operating requirements provided by Decathlon, with Genoa-based systems integrator STAM also participating in the project.
The aim is to handle the type of product variability that makes e-commerce fulfillment difficult to automate. According to Comau, the system can manipulate objects that differ in shape, weight and material, including rigid, soft and porous products. It can perform picking, handling and palletizing while using vision-based recognition, digital-twin capabilities and workflow orchestration tools to adapt to changing product flows.
“Comau’s role in the MASTERLY project is fully aligned with our commitment to advancing next-generation manufacturing by promoting reconfigurability, efficiency, and human-centric automation,” Alessandro Piscioneri, Comau’s Head of Product and Solution Management for Advanced Automation Solutions, said.
The emphasis on flexibility is significant for warehouse operators. Conventional robotic palletizing has long worked well in highly structured applications where product dimensions, pallet patterns and throughput requirements are relatively predictable. E-commerce and mixed-SKU distribution introduce much greater variability, increasing the challenge for automated picking and pallet-building systems.
Comau said the Decathlon project was also designed around human-centered automation. The company sees the technology as a way to reduce physical strain and improve ergonomics while allowing automated processes and warehouse employees to work within the same broader fulfillment environment.
The project also fits into Comau’s growing push beyond its traditional industrial automation base and further into intralogistics. In July, Comau completed its acquisition of Brazilian warehouse automation specialist Invent Smart Intralogistics Solutions. Invent brought capabilities in picking, sorting, warehouse control software and logistics orchestration, complementing the automated storage expertise of Automha, another Comau-owned company.
Comau CEO Pietro Gorlier described that expansion as “another concrete step in strengthening Comau’s position as a global automation hub.”
Together, Comau, Automha and Invent are building capabilities that stretch from production automation into automated storage, order preparation, material movement and distribution.
Robots may take on more repetitive case picking, order preparation and pallet building, while forklifts and autonomous lift trucks remain important for pallet replenishment, bulk movement, receiving and shipping. The more interesting story may ultimately be how those technologies are connected into one material-flow system rather than which technology replaces another.
