New robots at Stellantis factory can sort inventory faster than humans
Stellantis uses Dexory inventory scanning robots to manage warehouses at four facilities.
- The Dexory robot is an 11.5-foot-tall, AI-powered machine that can scan warehouse inventory much faster than a human.
- The robot can scale to a height of 46 feet.
- Stellantis has installed the robot in four assembly plants and plans to use it in more locations.
It takes about an hour and a half for a beeping Dexory robot to sort through inventory stored on narrow shelves at Stellantis’ massive Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP). It would take a human 280 hours to do the same job.
Dexory robots are sleek, gliding, AI-powered robots equipped with cameras, scanners, and LiDAR sensors that have been operating at four Stellantis facilities since late 2024, and factory managers and parts experts say they have dramatically increased efficiency and made factories run more smoothly.
Joe Maltagliati, who oversaw the technology’s implementation and is Stellantis’ in-house logistics innovation lead, said the automaker is the first of the Detroit Three to use such technology in its own facilities. At SHAP in the northern suburbs of Detroit, robots sort inventory while a team of about 7,000 workers surrounds them with Ram 1500 crews and quad-cab trucks.
How does it work?
During a tour with members of the press, Stellantis officials showed the Dexory bot, dubbed “Dexory V2,” departing from a dedicated charging station near the driving line of Ram 1500 trucks and slowly rolling toward a lane of inventory shelves stacked four high. The Dexory bot has a top speed of 2.25 miles per hour.
The robot is 11.5 feet tall when idle and can lift the scanner even higher, reaching 46 feet tall when it reaches the top of a steep shelf in a warehouse. The robot projects a light onto the box and scans the barcode as it passes through. Think of a towering Roomba vacuum cleaner with a retractable boom system that includes a barcode scanner and flashlight.
Dexory is a UK-based robotics startup with the goal of simplifying warehouse storage and inventory management.
Sandy Katucha, a logistics specialist at Stellantis, said the technology is useful from an efficiency standpoint because it can build a database of more than 1,300 different “little box” parts stored in a warehouse in just a few hours. “Small box” is an internal term used to refer to a package of parts that is large enough to be carried by one person.
Collaboration between robots and humans
At SHAP, robots sort inventory, but no one is facing layoffs. Stellantis spokesman Frank Machok said people who previously handled sorting and inventory have taken on new roles at the plant.
Katucha, the logistics specialist, said the robot is “designed to work collaboratively with factory teams, UAW members and manufacturing teams.”
“There is no escape from automation for now.”
Katucha pointed out that other companies like Amazon are also using AI-powered warehouse sorting to streamline their businesses. “So we thought it would be a great idea to bring it here.”
Katucha said the technology is also being used to make Stellantis facilities safer for employees.
For example, robots can identify potential safety issues, such as unstable pallets or overloaded shelves, and report them so they can be resolved.
When it comes to safety, the robot can also scan its surroundings and avoid contact with other equipment or people. During the demonstration, the Dexory bot crawled under a low pipe near the ceiling and stopped before rolling around a person standing in its path.
SHAP officials did not disclose the cost of the technology or how much Stellantis would save by using the robot, but they told reporters that Dexory would save money.
Liam Rapley covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
