FedEx is expanding on a robotics pilot to bring autonomous trailer loading and unloading capabilities to a Maryland distribution hub.
The courier is scaling its partnership with intelligent robotics provider Dexterity to bring its Mech trailer loading systems to the 325,000-square-foot pilot warehouse in Hagerstown, Md.
The companies have been partnering since 2023, when FedEx first deployed the Mech’s precursor, DexR, at its initial test site in Tracy, Calif.
Built on multiple years of joint development and testing, the Hagerstown deployment expands the program by enabling production at a “significantly larger” operational scale, according to FedEx.
The dual-armed Mech machines have a nearly 18-foot wingspan and a vertical reach of seven-and-half feet, and can carry individual payloads of 60 kilograms (132 pounds). Designed for heavy industrial operations, Mech remains compact enough to navigate autonomously inside trailers.
“FedEx has a long history of using technology to make our network safer, smarter, and more resilient,” said Kawal Preet, executive vice president, planning, engineering and transformation at FedEx. “This expanded collaboration with Dexterity reflects our commitment to advancing capabilities that improve how we operate today while helping prepare our network for the future.
Dexterity’s “physical AI” model Foresight is the engine powering the trailer loader, enabling it to make real-time decisions based on vision, depth and touch. Physical AI platforms integrate artificial intelligence within physical hardware such as sensors to enable machines like Mech to perceive a real-world environment. The Foresight model is trained with experience from over 100 million autonomous actions, according to the company.
To power autonomous trailer loading, Foresight reasons across three spatial dimensions and time to optimize how packages are placed for space, stability and speed across a wide range of operating conditions.
“Hagerstown represents an important milestone in demonstrating how physical AI can operate reliably in a high-volume logistics environment, creating a blueprint for network expansion,” said Samir Menon, PhD, founder and chief executive officer of Dexterity. “This technology is not just a future promise; it can perceive, decide, and act in the real world today.”
With the collaboration, FedEx says it is establishing how physical AI performs can integrate into broader hub operations, including destination planning, trailer assignment, maintenance and workforce processes.
“As we continue evaluating and deploying physical AI in real-world environments, we see opportunities to enhance the speed, reliability and flexibility of our network, creating long-term value for our business and customers,” Preet said.
The push to scale the AI/robotics combination comes as tens of thousands of trailers are loaded daily across the parcel delivery firm’s U.S. network. Trailer loading and unloading, particularly with a wide range of package types, can be an unpredictable and physically demanding in parcel warehousing operations.
According to FedEx, these are the top areas where human workers seek additional support.
FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam has understood the difficulties encountered throughout the process even with the technology in place. In a January interview with the New York Times, Subramaniam referred to truck unloading and truck loading as “a very difficult problem for robotics to solve—packages come in every size, shape and weight.”
During the company’s investor day presentation in February, Preet said FedEx will deploy automated trailer unloading and loading technology across “thousands” of dock doors in more than 20 hubs in the U.S. over the next few years.
Preet did not explicitly identify the companies and locations. But earlier that month, FedEx revealed that it was working with another partner, Berkshire Grey, on a trailer unloading collaboration to pilot the Scoop robotic package unloader.
That pilot is underway, and FedEx will have the first Scoop systems in operation later in calendar year 2026. The location of the test has not been disclosed, but the company is targeting additional facilities for deployment once the pilot is complete.
Scoop can recognize and handle all package types, and is designed to facilitate consistent inbound flow as it empties trailers from the inside before autonomously exiting them.
The initiative builds on FedEx and Berkshire Grey’s collaborative efforts through the years. In 2021, FedEx deployed the company’s Robotic Product Sortation and Identification systems to sort small packages. A year later, the companies agreed to develop broader AI robotic capabilities within FedEx’s package handling operations.
