Rainbow Robotics, the robot maker controlled by Samsung Electronics, has moved its RB-Y1 dual-arm mobile manipulator out of the lab and onto a live warehouse floor, placing the machine inside a Coupang fulfillment center for a real-world trial of automated picking and sorting.
RB-Y1's first commercial test
According to a report by South Korea's ETNews, Coupang is running the pilot to see how reliably the robot operates and how efficiently it moves goods, with a larger order expected to follow if RB-Y1 passes. None of the parties has confirmed the trial publicly. Until now, RB-Y1 had gone mainly to universities, research centers and factory trials at parent Samsung and at Toyota, making the Coupang deployment its first reported step onto a commercial operation.
What the robot can do
RB-Y1 is not a walking humanoid. It pairs two 7-degree-of-freedom arms on a wheeled, high-speed base, with a 6-DOF waist enabling it to mimic the motions of a human torso while moving quickly. Each arm carries a payload of about three kilograms, so early work is likely to mean lighter picking and sorting rather than heavy lifting. Rainbow Robotics uses 20-axis whole-body control to keep the platform's center of gravity in a safe zone during fast turns and acceleration.
Why Coupang is automating
The draw for Coupang is cost, plus reduced exposure under Korea's Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which can hold executives criminally liable for fatal workplace accidents. The e-commerce giant has spent heavily on automation across its AI-powered fulfillment network. Rainbow Robotics, meanwhile, is widening its reach and is in talks to supply CJ Logistics. Samsung raised its stake to 35% and absorbed Rainbow Robotics as a subsidiary in 2024 for 267 billion won (about $176 million).
The pilot fits a broader warehouse-automation wave. See our related coverage of DHL's 8,000-robot rollout, HD Hyundai Robotics' new heavy-payload cobots, and Sereact's $110M physical-AI round.
Reporting based on coverage from The Korea Herald and ETNews.