The French startup artificial intelligence (AI) company Exotec Solutions announced today the debut of new mobile robots – Skypods – designed to navigate by climbing shelves rather than moving the shelves to human workers.

According to the company, these are the world’s top industrial robots because they are able to process 400 picks an hour which is four times the picks made by humans and twice the speed of other similar existing industrial robots. In addition, the robots can reach speeds of 10mph in three dimensions, and are able to carry a payload of up to 30kg at a time.

“From inception, the system has been designed to ensure fast deployment and full scalability. Skypod’s free navigation allows the robots to travel anywhere within the system, something the competition can’t offer today. The system’s software is powered by the latest artificial intelligence, allowing us to deploy on site within days instead of weeks,” said Renaud Heitz, CTO and cofounder.

The first permanent installation of these robots is in a warehouse of the top French e-commerce company Cdiscount. The Skypods are used to pack and prepare orders at its warehouse near Bordeaux. The system consists of four parts:

1. The Skypod

2. The rack system

3. The control station, and

4. The WCS Astar Wi-Fi controller

Skypod in a warehouse. Source: Exotec Solutions

The rack. Source: Exotec Solutions

The control station. Source: Exotec Solutions

Exotec Solutions was founded in 2015 by former BA Systèmes technical director Romain Moulin and GE Healthcare software architect Renaud Heitz. Exotec robots have already been tested across a number of industries, and the company raised $3.5 million in outside funding a year ago to help expand its fleet of mobile robots into new sectors.