Warehouse robots are excellent at moving identical boxes. An e-commerce order from a sporting goods retailer is the opposite problem: a shin guard, a folded tent and a bag of tennis balls, all bound for the same pallet. Comau says it has built a robotic cell that copes with that mix, and it has been validated in a real fulfillment operation rather than a lab.
On September 9, 2026, the Turin-based automation company announced from Grugliasco that it had designed and validated a robotic order-preparation solution tested within Decathlon‘s e-commerce fulfillment warehouse. The work sits inside MASTERLY, a European initiative running under grant agreement number 101091800, which aims to accelerate the shift from traditional mass production toward highly flexible, customized and human-centric manufacturing.
The centerpiece is Comau’s MyCo collaborative robot, running a ROS2-based software architecture. Around the arm, Comau layered AI-powered vision systems for object recognition, intelligent sensors and an advanced modular gripper. The combination lets the cell pick, handle and palletize autonomously across variable product flows, with real-time optimization and the option for an operator to work alongside it.
The gripper is where most picking projects quietly fail. Comau engineered MyCo to manipulate objects that vary in shape, weight and material, and the company states the system can manage the rigid, soft and porous materials that fill an e-commerce warehouse. A shrink-wrapped box, a nylon duffel and a foam roller each demand a different grip strategy, and a single-purpose vacuum cup will only ever nail one of them.
Rounding out the package are digital twin capabilities and workflow orchestration tools, so the cell can be simulated and re-sequenced rather than re-taught by hand every time the product catalog shifts.
The MyCo range itself gives the project some headroom. On Comau’s product pages the family spans six six-axis models, from the MyCo-3-0.59 at 3 kg payload and 590 mm reach up to the MyCo-15-1.30 at 15 kg and 1300 mm, with MyCo-3.5-0.95, MyCo-5-0.80, MyCo-8-1.30 and MyCo-10-1.00 filling the gaps. Repeatability runs from ±0.02 mm on the smallest arm to ±0.05 mm on the largest. All are rated IP54 as standard with an optional IP66 upgrade, operate from 0 to 50°C, run on 100–240V AC at 50–60Hz, and mount to a floor, wall, ceiling or incline.
Decathlon supplied the operational requirements for the pilot. STAM, a Genoa-based systems integrator, joined as a partner alongside the wider MASTERLY consortium.
The project also fits a broader push. Comau has been building out intralogistics through Automha, its Bergamo-based automated storage and retrieval arm, and Invent, its São Paulo picking and sorting specialist.
“Comau’s role in the MASTERLY project is fully aligned with our commitment to advancing next-generation manufacturing,” said Alessandro Piscioneri, Head of Product and Solution Management for Advanced Automation Solutions at Comau. He pointed to the value of combining intelligent robotics, digital technologies and systems integration to create highly flexible logistics operations.
