Kiwi Logistics aims to design and build an autonomous warehouse robot capable of navigating a structured indoor environment, detecting obstacles, and operating within an inventory management workflow. Current warehouse operations depend significantly on extensive physical labor to lift and transport inventory, often leading to a high risk of workplace injury or long-term health problems. The goal of our design is to present a scalable, easy-to-use autonomous inventory management system that tackles the risk of manual labor without eliminating human jobs in warehouse operation.
The system utilizes a camera for tag identification, ultrasonic sensors for object avoidance, and a motorized lifting mechanism mounted onto a four-wheeled carriage to accurately find, pick up, and transport inventory boxes on top of pallets. An additional user interface will allow the operator to directly input a desired inventory item to a specific drop off location, following with notifications of completed retrieval, delivery, and a return to home base.
By the end of the Spring 2026, Kiwi Logistics will have developed an autonomous robot that is capable of navigating a simulated warehouse environment, fulfilling the desired task of transporting cargo from the extraction site to its designated spot on the shelves and vice versa. Key milestones achieved as of Winter 2026 include constructing and successfully controlling the moving carriage and lifting mechanism, with wiring diagrams complete for further electrical integration plans. Future milestones are focused on whole system integration along with reaching full autonomy with the incorporation of computer vision and Robot Operating System (ROS) libraries.