Wallace Design Collective

The Alphabot aims to transform how people shop for groceries. Developed specially for Walmart by startup Alert Innovation, Alphabot helps to enable quicker, more efficient order picking. The system operates inside a 20,000 square foot warehouse-style space, using autonomous carts to retrieve ambient, refrigerated and frozen items ordered for online grocery. After the items are retrieved, Alphabot delivers the products to a workstation, where an associate checks, bags and delivers the final order. The Alphabots even recharge themselves while they climb and descend towers on each trip.

Wallace provided structural engineering services for the installation of the Alphabot in Salem, New Hampshire. We worked with Alert Innovation on the tower structures to support the Alphabots. We also provided structural engineering services on the 20,000 square foot, 36′ high single-story addition to the adjacent Walmart, including extensive revisions to the existing building to account for the additional snow load from the taller structure.

Photos: ©Alert Innovations