Robot-Guided Palletisation and De-Palletisation


High-mix pallets on fast conveyors often arrive skewed, stacked, or misaligned, slowing cycles when workers have to reposition items manually. Vision-guided robotics uses 3D sensing to capture each package’s position, orientation, and height in real time. This solution passes precise coordinates to the robot for automated location detection, which supports consistent picks, fewer jams, and safer conditions for workers. Operations can run 24/7 without extra labour while capturing accurate, real-time, traceable data.

Zebra 3S Series 3D Sensor being used for Robot Palletization in Manufacturing

Automate palletising and depalletizing with 3D vision

Capture 3D positions for precise robot picks

Dense, mixed cartons challenge robots when sizes, gaps, and skew vary by the minute. Zebra 3S Series 3D sensors generate high-resolution depth profiles across the conveyor, then compute x‑y‑z position and orientation for each package. The sensors publish stable pick coordinates to the robot controller or a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). Reliable detection cuts mis-picks and jams and keeps palletisation and de-palletisation running without slowdowns.

screenshot of box finder application within aurora design assistant

Integrate with robots and line control

For faster deployment, Zebra 3S Series 3D sensors can be bundled with Zebra Aurora Design Assistant or Aurora Vision Studio. Use Aurora Design Assistant’s flow-based environment to build, test, and deploy picking logic quickly. Zebra software interfaces with Warehouse Management and Transportation Management Systems (WMS/TMS) to report execution status to the robot controller or PLC in real time. I/O signals confirm grasp and enable automatic re-tries or routing to a reject bin.