Black-I Robotics wins autonomous mobile robot picking challenge

Black-I Robotics won the Chewy Autonomous Mobile Picking (CHAMP) Challenge, a competition organized by Chewy and MassRobotics to develop fully autonomous robots capable of handling large, heavy, and non-rigid items in complex warehouse environments. The challenge addressed significant difficulties in warehouse automation, such as manipulating irregularly shaped, deformable items weighing over 40 pounds, which are difficult to grasp using conventional methods. Black-I Robotics’ winning system combined a mobile base with a 6-DOF industrial arm and custom multi-modal end effectors, integrating AI-driven perception, precise object detection, and pose estimation to enable reliable grasping and navigation in tight aisles alongside live warehouse operations. Their solution demonstrated full autonomy, adaptability, and seamless integration into fulfillment workflows, earning them the $30,000 first-place prize. The CHAMP Challenge emphasized not only manipulation but also system-level integration, requiring robots to navigate narrow aisles, avoid dynamic obstacles, and place items into shipping containers with mixed contents. Twelve