Carter
About
About Carter
Carter is a holonomic collaborative mobile robot that moves in any direction and carries up to 100 kilograms. A 360-degree camera system and visual SLAM provide mapping, localisation and safety awareness, while configurable shelving supports warehouse picking, put-away and material movement.
Whole-robot force sensing and a force-sensitive handlebar allow workers to steer or reposition Carter directly with one hand. Put-to-light indicators, a touchscreen and barcode scanner guide warehouse tasks and reduce picking errors. The robot can alternate between autonomous and worker-guided activity as warehouse demand changes.
Capabilities
Source-backed capabilities
- Navigation and obstacle avoidance
Claimed - 2022-06-21 - Carter combined autonomous navigation with direct worker interaction through a force-sensitive handlebar.
Source - Autonomous route navigation
Claimed - 2022-06-21 - Carter combined autonomous navigation with direct worker interaction through a force-sensitive handlebar.
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Operations
- Order / Commitment
24 Carter robots - 2026-07-28 - O'Neill Logistics - 3PL distribution centres - O'Neill Logistics ordered 24 Carter robots for two distribution centres, with go-live planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Source
Deployments
- Operating Use
staged pilot - 2026-07-08 - ShipLab - ecommerce fulfilment warehouse - ShipLab began a staged Carter pilot for tote transport between fulfilment and packing stations at its Vista facility.
Source - Operating Use
15 Carter robots - 2025-12-02 - DHL Supply Chain - warehouse retail logistics - DHL Supply Chain began a 15-unit Carter rollout in Mexican retail operations, Carter’s first deployment in DHL Latin America.
Source - Customer Site
more than 20 drop-off points - 2025-11-13 - Saddle Creek Logistics Services - warehouse fulfilment - Carter operates in a Charlotte fulfilment site as a virtual conveyor between processing and labelling lines and more than 20 drop-off points.
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Supply
Supply / Components
- Robust.AI Gen 3 Carter
Pulse Radar Vision Sensor Fusion - Perception - Aptiv - Robust.AI selected Aptiv PULSE radar-and-vision perception for the Gen 3 Carter mobile robot - source: aptiv.com
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Timeline
- O'Neill Logistics orders 24 Robust.AI Carter robots
2026-07-28 - Commercial Order - The agreement covers 24 Carter robots across distribution centres in Monroe, New Jersey, and Savannah, Georgia. Carter will support picking, putaway, value-added services and material-handling workflows at the two sites. Go-live is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Source - ShipLab starts staged Carter pilot in Vista
2026-07-08 - Deployment - The initial workflow moves totes between fulfilment and packing stations. Expansion to a wider picking fleet is conditional on successful performance validation. RaaS payments are deferred at each phase until jointly defined targets are met.
Source - Robust.AI selects Aptiv PULSE perception for Gen 3 Carter
2026-06-23 - Partnership - PULSE fuses surround-view camera and ultra-short-range radar inputs. Aptiv will pursue PL(d) certification for relevant industrial safety use cases.
Source - DHL begins 15-unit Carter rollout in Mexico
2025-12-02 - Deployment - The rollout is Carter’s first deployment in DHL’s Latin American operations. Carter improved productivity by more than 60% in North America and 30% in Mexico. Warehouse-management-system integration is scheduled for 2026, followed by phased expansion across the Americas.
Source - Saddle Creek deploys Carter robots at Charlotte warehouse
2025-11-13 - Deployment - Carter moves totes between processing and labelling lines and more than 20 designated drop-off points. The deployment operates as a virtual conveyor without added fixed infrastructure. The workflow reduced walking, increased tote capacity per trip and lowered floor congestion.
Source - Robust.AI and Aptiv partner on AI-powered collaborative robots
2025-11-10 - Partnership - Aptiv’s PULSE sensor combines a surround-view camera with ultra-short-range radar for 360-degree perception. The joint architecture also uses Aptiv machine-learning perception and path-planning software plus Wind River compute platforms. Carter contributes real-time SLAM, holonomic drive and a force-sensitive handlebar for direct human control.
Source - Robust.AI and Foxconn partner to scale Carter robot manufacturing
2025-05-16 - Partnership - Robust.AI and Foxconn announced a strategic manufacturing partnership to expand production of Carter, Robust.AI’s multi-function collaborative warehouse robot platform. Foxconn engineers had already been working with Robust.AI in the United States to build Carter, with the partnership intended to shorten production and deployment times as international demand grows. Carter is designed for flexible warehouse work including picking, point-to-point transport and mobile sorting; Robust.AI said a DHL Supply Chain deployment in Las Vegas delivered more than 60% productivity gains within weeks.
Source - Robust.AI launches Carter Pro warehouse robot
2024-10-16 - Product Launch - Carter Pro can operate autonomously or be physically guided by workers through force-sensing interaction. Robust.AI said it was deploying solutions with DHL Supply Chain in the U.S. and Mexico alongside the launch.
Source - Robust.AI raises USD 20M Series A-1
2023-04-20 - Funding - Prime Movers Lab led the round, with Future Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, JAZZ Ventures and Playground Global participating. Robust.AI said Carter was already being delivered to pilot customers in warehousing and logistics. The company planned to use the capital to accelerate commercialization and expand its team.
Source - Robust.AI unveils Carter collaborative mobile-robot concept
2022-06-21 - Product Launch - Carter combined autonomous navigation with direct worker interaction through a force-sensitive handlebar. The concept was designed to support warehouse transport and picking workflows while working alongside people. Robust.AI presented Carter with Grace, its software suite for building and operating collaborative robots.
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