Flying warehouse robots win IERA Award 2026

The aerial robots help in the logistics and retail sector, continuously keeping track of inventory without GPS or human intervention. The drones autonomously navigate aisles and scan barcodes before returning to charging stations. Across deployed fleets, a centralized cloud-based platform ensures continuous learning and optimisation of performance.

Each drone is equipped with real-time autonomy functions on board, such as perception, motion planning, and obstacle avoidance, to ensure real-time decisions. When they fly through aisles, they capture barcode data, which are integrated directly into warehouse management systems. Discrepancies are identified and reported. The drones work autonomously for months at a time, requiring two to three battery replacements per year.

Across warehouses, the drones capture about 500,000 images per day. This continuous stream of real-world data is used to train and refine the technology. Verity’s systems have been deployed in about 200 warehouses worldwide.

In the retail and logistics sector, keeping accurate inventory records is fundamental. In warehouses, inventory may be distributed across thousands of storage locations and moved throughout the day. The continuous checks performed by aerial robots would not be feasible with manual processes, all the more so, as the sector is marked by high labour turnover and tight cost constraints. By locating lost items, such as misplaced fully loaded pallets, the drone system saves companies a significant amount of money that would previously have had to be written off.

“With its aerial robotics technology, Verity has managed to develop a mature product that has been successfully launched to support its customers,” said Jim Ostrowski, IERA Award’s Committee Chair. “The jury was impressed by Verity's significant patent portfolio, their robust business plan, and their pioneering role in bringing innovative technology to market.”

“It is a great honor to be recognised by the leading organisations in the robotics industry,” said Markus Hehn, co-founder and chief technology officer of Verity. “We thank the jury for recognising the efforts of our team and awarding us the prestigious IERA Award 2026.”

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