The Robot Report Names AutoStore Winner of the 2026 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards
The Robot Report Names AutoStore Winner of the 2026 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards
AutoStore Company Ltd., our corporate member, has announced it has won a 2026 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for its work on Opollo Farm, the world’s first vertical farm operated entirely by robots
The RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards honor the organisations leading the global robotics ecosystem with new technologies, business models, and use cases. The award recognises AutoStore for extending its proven cube-based automation platform into agriculture, helping enable a new model for high-density, autonomous crop production that addresses persistent challenges in food supply chains.
Parth Joshi, Chief Product Officer at AutoStore, shared that “At AutoStore, we have built one of the most powerful hardware, software, and AI platforms in warehouse automation, and the Opollo Farm deployment with OnePointOne shows just how far that platform can reach,”
Developed with vertical farming company OnePointOne, Opollo Farm is the world’s first vertical farm operated entirely by robots. It adapts AutoStore’s storage and retrieval technology to the movement and care of living plants instead of SKU-based picking. The system uses robots to precisely control airflow, irrigation, nutrient delivery, and lighting, while reducing manual handling throughout production.
Benjamin Warden & Subbu Vishnubhatla of AutoStore accept the RBR50 Innovation 2026 award
“At AutoStore, we have built one of the most powerful hardware, software, and AI platforms in warehouse automation, and the Opollo Farm deployment with OnePointOne shows just how far that platform can reach,” said Parth Joshi, Chief Product Officer at AutoStore. “Our robot and cube verse platforms, powered by AI-driven software, work as a unified system built to solve the hardest operational challenges. This RBR50 recognition is a testament to what happens when a truly integrated platform meets a bold, unconventional use case, and we see tremendous opportunity ahead to bring that same innovation to problems the industry has not yet imagined.”
An AutoStore Robot in action in the Opollo vertical famring solution from OnePointOne
In Phoenix, the first Opollo Farm installation is already producing microgreens, basil, and packaged salads for select Whole Foods Market stores. Crops reach harvest in 15 days, water usage is reduced by 95% compared to traditional farming, and production costs have been lowered by 60% for microgreens, 40% for basil, and 20% for packaged salads.
For AutoStore, the award underscores a broader belief that automation should solve essential operational problems wherever they exist. The same intelligent fulfillment that has helped retailers, grocers, and logistics providers improve throughput and space utilisation is now being used to shorten food supply chains, reduce waste, and bring production closer to the communities being served.
About AutoStore
AutoStore™ holds a simple yet powerful vision: to store and move things for everyone, everywhere. Founded in Norway, they’ve grown into a global technology company. AutoStore uses advanced software to automate and orchestrate order fulfillment. Their goal is to ensure orders arrive faster than ever, with minimal environmental impact. That’s how they help brands exceed customer expectations.
They have more than 1950 systems in over 65 countries, and they grow continuously as a community of employees, partners, customers, suppliers, and connected technologies. Automation should make life easier, and by listening carefully to our community, they innovate to meet the industry’s most complex needs. With AutoStore™, brands gain speed, efficiency, and improved workplaces. And much more floor space.
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