Zebra Connect Series: The Pinnacle of AMR Innovation
Zebra Connect
Advanced Autonomous Mobile Robots
The Zebra Connect Series represents Zebra Technologies’ most advanced line of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material handling and fulfillment. These cart‑moving AMRs are designed to redefine warehouse workflows with unprecedented performance and efficiency.
Connect Series robots are twice as fast and strong as earlier pick-assist models, capable of running two full shifts on about a one-hour charge. This series leverages Zebra’s proven expertise (including technology from Fetch Robotics) to deliver enterprise-grade automation that minimises manual cart transport. The result is a fleet of collaborative robots built for experienced buyers and technical decision-makers who demand high throughput, reliability, and seamless integration into complex operations.
Introducing Zebra Connect Series AMRs
The Zebra Connect Series Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are designed to revolutionize your operations with unmatched speed and reliability. Capable of reaching speeds up to 1.75 m/s, these robots ensure high throughput and productivity. With a robust build and a two-shift runtime on a single one-hour charge, they are engineered to withstand the rigors of industrial environments.
Our AMRs integrate seamlessly into your existing systems, offering a comprehensive solution that enhances operational efficiency. Built with advanced navigation and safety features, they are the ideal choice for businesses looking to optimize their workflow and reduce downtime.
Zebra Connect Series: Comparison
Explore the advanced features that set Zebra Connect Series AMRs apart from the competition.
Zebra Connect Series
Payload Capacity: 125 lbs
Navigation: UltraSLAM™ with LiDAR and 3D Vision
Safety: R15.08 Compliant, Obstacle Detection, E-stop
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Edge Compute, Cloud-Managed
Runtime: Up to 16 Hours, Fast-Charging in ~1 Hour
Dimensions & Turning: Compact Footprint, Zero-Radius Turning
Competitor AMR
Payload Capacity: 100 lbs
Navigation: Basic SLAM with 2D Sensors
Safety: Basic Compliance, Limited Detection
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5, Basic Compute, Local Management
Runtime: Up to 12 Hours, Standard Charging
Dimensions & Turning: Larger Footprint, Limited Turning
Seamless Integration with Zebra Symmetry™
Experience unparalleled integration with the Zebra Symmetry™ platform, designed to streamline your operations with ease. Our advanced AMRs offer a quick setup process, allowing your team to get up and running in no time. Benefit from autonomous task allocation, ensuring efficient workflow management, and leverage remote control capabilities for enhanced operational oversight. This seamless integration empowers your business to achieve optimal productivity and efficiency.
Adaptability and Flexibility
Cart-Modular Design
Our AMRs feature a cart-modular design, providing unmatched flexibility to adapt to your specific needs. Easily configure the robots to support various workflows, including pick-to-cart and replenishment, ensuring seamless integration into your existing processes.
Payload Versatility
With payload flexibility, our robots can handle a wide range of tasks, from tote transfers to complex order fulfillment. This adaptability allows you to optimize your operations and maximize efficiency across different applications.
Workflow Support
Support for diverse workflows is at the core of our AMRs’ design. Whether it’s pick-to-cart, replenishment, or any other warehouse task, our robots are equipped to handle it all, providing you with the versatility needed to streamline your operations.
Advanced Safety Systems
Comprehensive Sensor Suite
Multi-Layer Sensor Technology
Our AMRs are equipped with a sophisticated multi-layer sensor suite, including LiDAR and 3D cameras, to ensure precise navigation and obstacle detection. This technology guarantees safe and efficient operation in dynamic environments.
Dynamic Re-Routing
Experience intelligent dynamic re-routing capabilities that allow our robots to navigate around obstacles seamlessly, maintaining productivity and minimizing downtime in your operations.
Safety Compliance
Our AMRs adhere to the highest safety standards, including ISO 3691-4 and ANSI/RIA R15.08 compliance, ensuring a safe working environment for your team and peace of mind for your business.
Proactive Alerts
Stay informed with proactive alerts, including LED floor projections and sound notifications, designed to enhance safety and awareness in your facility.
Obstacle Detection
Our advanced obstacle detection system ensures that your operations run smoothly, preventing collisions and maintaining a safe environment for all personnel.
Emergency Stop Features
Equipped with emergency stop features, our AMRs provide an added layer of safety, allowing for immediate halting of operations in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Integration Flexibility
The Connect Series is built for seamless integration into existing enterprise systems and workflows. Zebra Symmetry™ cloud-based software provides unified fleet management and easy connectivity to warehouse management systems (WMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, and manufacturing execution systems (MES). Through open APIs and standard interfaces, Symmetry integrates with WMS/WES in just hours, allowing the AMRs to receive tasks directly from your order management or production systems. This means a Connect robot can automatically fetch orders or restock materials as directed by your software, with minimal custom coding or infrastructure changes.
In practice, Symmetry evaluates and batches orders from the WMS, then allocates them to robots and teams for optimal execution. The entire fleet can be monitored and controlled remotely via the cloud – whether you’re on-site or off-site, you have full visibility and control of your robots from a web dashboard. Integration options also include IoT and edge devices: for example, Connect robots can interface with automated doors, sensors, or conveyors through I/O modules, enabling interoperability with broader automation systems. Zebra provides a Developer Portal and API documentation to facilitate custom integrations, ensuring the Connect Series can tie into unique workflows or proprietary systems. In short, the Connect Series offers plug-and-play integration with enterprise software and a flexible architecture to extend into any existing warehouse tech stack.
Functional Adaptability
One of the strengths of the Zebra Connect Series is its modular and adaptable design to support a variety of warehouse workflows. Each robot is essentially a versatile base that can accommodate different cart types or payload modules. Modular Cart Interfaces: The Connect robots automatically latch onto custom carts – users can equip different cart sizes, shelf configurations, or tote carriers depending on the task. This plug-on design means you can easily swap a cart carrying picked orders for another cart loaded with replenishment stock, using the same robot base.
Workflow Customisation: Through software, operations can tailor what each robot does at different times of day or for different processes. For example, in a pick-to-cart workflow, workers focus on picking items while a Connect robot autonomously moves the loaded carts to packing stations. The same robot can later be reassigned to a replenishment route, towing a cart of inventory to restock pick faces, or to a tote transfer job, shuttling bins between an automated storage (AS/RS) system and manual kitting stations. This adaptability is enabled by Symmetry’s easy workflow configuration tools – users can drag-and-drop to create new AMR tasks and schedules without reprogramming robots.
The Connect Series also supports varied payload attachments in Zebra’s broader portfolio. While the Connect model itself specializes in cart transport, it works in concert with other Zebra AMR modules (like the Flex shelf system or Roller conveyor top) to handle bins, cases, or pallets as needed. This means a warehouse can customise a fleet with the right mix of cart-pulling robots, conveyor robots, and shelf-carrying robots – all under the same Symmetry platform – to automate diverse operations. Overall, Zebra Connect robots are designed to be multi-purpose cobots that you can quickly reconfigure to meet changing operational needs, ensuring your automation keeps pace with dynamic business demands.
Safety Architecture
Safety is paramount for Zebra’s Connect Series, which is engineered for collaborative operation around people. Each robot is equipped with a multi-layered sensor suite and redundant safety systems to prevent collisions and ensure smooth human-robot interaction. The primary safety sensor is a 360° LiDAR laser scanner (safety-rated) that creates a protective sphere around the robot. It can detect obstacles or people up to 25 meters away and will slow or stop the robot to avoid any contact. This is complemented by 3D depth cameras on board that help the robot recognize objects at various heights – from low-lying obstacles to a person’s legs or a forklift’s forks – allowing for proactive avoidance and safe navigation in complex, dynamic environments.
Zebra’s UltraSLAM™ localization not only guides navigation but also dynamically re-routes the robot in real time when unexpected obstacles appear. The Connect robots do not rely on fixed tracks or reflectors; they independently sense and circumvent obstacles (such as a pallet left in an aisle) to continue their mission safely. If a person steps in front of the robot, the safety system will either pause or slowly maneuver around them, prioritising human safety.
Beyond sensors, the Connect Series has built-in visual and audible alerts to communicate with nearby workers. A ring of LED lights (including floor-projection lights) signals the robot’s status and direction – for instance, a blue LED strip projects onto the floor in the direction of travel to warn anyone ahead. Audible indicators (beeps up to 100 dB) can sound if a robot is approaching a blind corner or if someone is too close. Each unit is equipped with multiple emergency stop buttons for manual intervention, and the system can integrate with facility emergency systems if needed (e.g., a fire alarm can command all robots to stop and clear aisles).
Importantly, the Connect Series meets or exceeds the latest industry safety standards for AMRs. It is ANSI/RIA R15.08 compliant and tested to relevant ISO 3691-4 safety standards, indicating that everything from its sensors to its software failsafes have been vetted for safe use alongside human workers. These robots have configurable safety zones too – operators can define speed-limited areas or no-go zones in the facility (for example, around a fragile equipment area), and the robots will automatically adjust or avoid those zones. In summary, Zebra Connect AMRs feature a comprehensive safety architecture combining advanced sensors, intelligent software, and rigorous compliance, ensuring they coexist with workers and equipment without incident.
Purpose built for high-throughput environments
Industry Applications
The Connect Series is purpose-built for demanding, high-volume environments across industries. Whether it’s a sprawling e-commerce fulfillment centre processing thousands of orders a day or a lean manufacturing plant running just-in-time production, Zebra Connect AMRs are designed to keep goods flowing efficiently.
Warehousing & 3PL Logistics:
In third-party logistics and distribution centres, throughput and turnaround times are critical. Connect robots excel at order picking support, shuttling picked items to packing stations faster than manual cart pushing. For example, Waytek, an automotive parts distributor, improved its order throughput by 25% using Zebra’s AMRs, alleviating a conveyor bottleneck and keeping up with ~800 orders/day in a 100,000 sq ft facility.
By reducing the unproductive walking time of human pickers, more orders can be picked and processed each hour. The robots can also handle batch picking routes, where one robot assists multiple pickers by collecting batches of orders on a cart, then splitting them at a sortation area – a workflow that greatly increases pick density and efficiency in e-commerce fulfillment.
Manufacturing & Industrial:
In manufacturing, the Connect Series supports line-side delivery and work-in-progress (WIP) transport. Robots can move kits of parts from the warehouse to assembly lines or transfer semi-finished goods between production stages.
With their modular cart system, they readily carry bins, components, or totes required for production. The precise navigation (down to centimetres) allows them to pull up to an assembly station or machine reliably every time. This automation of material handling ensures production lines are resupplied just-in-time, boosting overall equipment utilization. Moreover, for industries like automotive or electronics manufacturing, Connect robots can handle the repetitive hauling of parts, freeing workers to focus on assembly and quality tasks.
Retail & Wholesale Distribution
For retailers and wholesalers, the Connect AMRs help in store replenishment order picking, pallet breakdown, and cross-docking operations. A fleet of Connect robots can be orchestrated to gather items from across the warehouse for store orders, then stage the loaded carts at outbound docks.
Since the system is highly scalable, facilities can add more robots during peak seasons (like holiday surge) to maintain throughput, and then reallocate robots to other tasks or facilities as needed. The cloud-based Symmetry platform makes scaling up or down straightforward – new robots can be onboarded and begin executing tasks within hours, using the same maps and workflows configured for the site.
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Distribution
In pharmaceutical warehouses or hospital supply centres, accuracy and traceability are paramount alongside throughput. Zebra Connect robots, with their integrated scanning and data capture options (leveraging Zebra’s data capture tech), can ensure each tote or cart of medicines is moved to the correct location with full traceability.
They can support high-frequency small orders typical in pharma distribution, running almost continuously thanks to fast charging. Their safety systems are especially valuable in pharma environments where both people and robots share tight spaces – the robots can navigate crowded storerooms or lab corridors safely to deliver supplies. And because they operate on a cloud system, compliance data and status of deliveries can be monitored centrally, which is a plus for regulated industries..
High-Throughput 24/7 Operations:
Across all these sectors, the Connect Series is engineered for 24/7 uptime in high-throughput scenarios. Components are industrial-grade, maintenance intervals are optimized, and Zebra offers proactive diagnostics via the cloud to prevent downtime.
The fleet management intelligence prevents traffic jams and idle time – for instance, Symmetry will dispatch robots in a way that avoids clustering and will even reassign tasks on the fly if one robot in the fleet goes offline, so the work continues without interruption. The system can also collect data and apply analytics to continually improve workflow efficiency over time, identifying bottlenecks or opportunities to streamline tasks further.
Contact Us
Ready to elevate your operation with Zebra’s most advanced AMRs? Contact All In One Warehouse Solutions today to arrange a technical consultation or live demo — and discover how the Connect Series can redefine efficiency in your facility.