wheel.me and item America LLC partner on material handling automation in North America

Automation projects often begin with a product decision: choose a robot, then adapt the operation around it. That approach can work, but it can also create problems when the technology does not match the material flow.

A better starting point is the material flow itself. What needs to move? How often? Between which points? Who handles it today? The answers show whether the operation needs an autonomous upgrade to an existing cart, a carrier designed around the load, or a broader system that brings equipment and automation together.

“A good automation project starts by defining the problem, not choosing a robot from a product catalog,” says Trevor Benson, Head of Regional Partnerships for Canada and the U.S. at wheel.me. “Sometimes that means making an existing cart autonomous. Sometimes it means designing a new one for the application. item knows how to engineer material handling equipment, and we know how to make it move autonomously. Together, we can help customers across North America solve the material handling challenge as a whole.”

The partnership brings these complementary capabilities together on customer projects. wheel.me contributes Genius 2, a set of autonomous wheels supported by navigation and fleet software. item America LLC contributes modular engineering and experience designing carts, racks, and other manufacturing equipment around the load, process, and operating environment.

Genius 2 is designed for facilities that are already operating – brownfield facilities. The wheels turn a suitable cart, rack, bin, or fixture into an autonomous mobile robot without rails, tape, or other fixed guidance systems. The environment and equipment require minimal changes, and therefore, deployment takes days rather than months.

While retrofitting your existing equipment with Genius 2 robots may make sense in some cases, brownfield automation does not always mean keeping every piece of equipment already in place. When the cart itself limits the process, redesigning or replacing it may create more value than automating it as it is.That leaves three practical options.

Automate the equipment you already have

If a cart carries the right load, fits the process, and works for operators, there is no reason to replace it. Genius 2 can be installed underneath, allowing the operation to keep using familiar equipment. Each application is assessed against payload, cart dimensions, floor conditions, clearance, operating environment, and mission design.

Taxi cart: move many carts with one autonomous carrier

Some facilities operate large fleets of similar carts, with each cart moving only once per shift or once per day. Automating every cart individually would place a great deal of automation where very little movement occurs.

A taxi cart concentrates the automation in one larger carrier. It collects and transports conventional carts between storage, production, and handoff points while the individual carts remain simple. The fleet is sized around transport frequency, not the total number of carts.

The carrier itselfmust be designed around the carts it handles, the aisles it navigates, and the handoff points it serves. This is where the partnership’s complementary strengths are especially clear. item engineers the carrier and its interfaces, while wheel.me integrates Genius 2 to automate the movements.

Change the cart when the cart itself limits the process

Sometimes the load carrier itself limits the process. A wire rack can improve stock visibility and access, a karakuri rack can use gravity instead of powered mechanisms, and a self-loading carrier can reduce manual handling at each end of the route.

A karakuri rack shows how the two engineering approaches can work together. Gravity, levers, and counterweights can index the next bin or transfer a load without a separate motor. Combined with Genius 2, the rack’s material handling function remains passive while the wheels handle autonomous transport. item designs the motion that doesn’t need a motor, while wheel.me automates the transport that does.

This still follows the brownfield principle: the facility, the layout, and the way the line runs stay largely unchanged while one piece of equipment is redesigned for the job to make the process more efficient.

Not every project starts in a facility that is already operating. When a new line, cell, or building is being planned, little is fixed, including the carts. This creates an opportunity to design the load carriers and autonomous movement together so the equipment fits the process from day one.

In a greenfield project, item can design racks, carts, and workstations around the actual loads and process requirements, while wheel.me integrates autonomous movement from the start. Equipment and transport can be specified as one system instead of adapted later.

Because Genius 2 uses autonomous navigation rather than fixed guidance, the layout remains flexible after commissioning. If the line moves, the product changes, or volumes shift, routes can be updated in software. The facility does not have to lock in its material flow on day one.

For decades, item has worked closely with its customers to build modular solutions around the way their operations actually run, and autonomous mobile robots are already part of that work. Genius 2 offers a different approach: instead of using a separate robotto move equipment, the equipment itself can become autonomous. That complements item’s engineering and gives customers another way to build material flow around their operation.

Together, wheel.me and item America LLC can support projects ranging from a straightforward retrofit to a newly engineered carrier or complete line concept. The choice begins with the same question: what does this material flow actually need?

wheel.me works through a global partner network that brings local knowledge, industry experience, and integration capabilities to different markets. The collaboration with item America LLC expands the engineering and design options available for North American projects where the equipment itself is central to the result.

Looking for the right partner in your region? Find all wheel.me partners at wheel.me/en-us/find-a-reseller

wheel.me™ is a Norwegian robotics company behind Genius 2, a set of autonomous wheels that turns suitable carts, racks, and other equipment into autonomous mobile robots without fixed guidance infrastructure. The technology is used across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and other sectors. wheel.me has offices in Oslo, Fredrikstad, Detroit, and León and works through a global partner network.

item Industrietechnik is a family-run company that has developed modular systems for mechanical and factory equipment engineering since 1976. Its industrial building kit systems and digital engineering tools support configurable solutions across manufacturing, including carts, racks, workstations, and wider material handling equipment. item is represented through its own locations and partners in more than 50 countries.