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Tharsus Robots, Ocado Smart Platform

Tharsus

Challenge

To support our sister company Tharsus in their work manufacturing the robots behind the unique and proprietary Ocado Smart Platform (OSP); an automated, robotic fulfilment platform which features robot units working at high speeds on large grids, to pick groceries from storage areas beneath.

Ocado had approached Tharsus to support their efforts to revolutionise the global grocery market. The long-standing partnership between Tharsus and Ocado Group is based on the manufacture of progressive generations of sophisticated robotic technology, which has revolutionised the process of fulfilling grocery orders made online.

The robots required to populate the OSP had to be compact, robust and capable of carrying weight at speed. Building them would require complex and highly accurate metal fabrication, ensuring the robots would be structurally fit for purpose.

Tharsus Robots, Ocado Smart Platform
Engineer working on Tharsus Robots for Ocado Smart Platform

A Better, Smarter Solution

Working in partnership with Tharsus, we helped to manufacture the robots at the heart of the Ocado Smart Platform.

We worked closely with the team at Tharsus to understand the requirements for the project. We used our technical Design for Manufacture expertise to ensure the metalwork components we supplied were high quality, met Ocado Group’s specification, and were suitable for scalable manufacture.

To ensure we were able to meet these complex requirements, we also invested in CNC machinery to support the project.

Impact

Working in partnership with Tharsus, we played a pivotal part in helping Ocado Group respond to rapidly growing demand for its automated, robotic fulfilment platform. The development of the OSP has transitioned Ocado from an online grocer to a £9bn technology business.

Supported by our partnership, Tharsus has now scaled up its production of Ocado Smart Platform robots to thousands of units each year, with Universal Wolf providing metalwork for these units. The robots are central to keeping Ocado at the cutting edge of the global grocery market – as Ocado provides the Ocado Smart Platform as a service to retailers around the world, our work with Tharsus can now be found globally, demonstrating the true power of the pack.

Engineer working on Ocado Smart Platform Tharsus Robots