Galbot Deploys Humanoid Robots in Shanghai Pharmacy

Recap

Source: 로봇신문, report of Oct. 6, 2026

According to the report, Chinese robotics firm Galbot (银河通用) has initiated continuous operations of its humanoid robots in a large Lao Baixing (老百姓) pharmacy located in the Hongcao Road area of Xuhui District, Shanghai. The deployment is cited from Shanghai Securities News (상하이정췐바오). The robots function as autonomous staff in the on-site sales warehouse, managing the entire workflow from order intake to final dispatch.

When an online order is received, the robot navigates to densely stocked shelves to detect and select the correct medication. It then uses a vision system to verify product information before packaging the item and placing it in a smart pickup locker. Customers retrieve their orders by entering the last digits of their phone number. The company states that the entire process, from order receipt to dispatch, takes an average of 90 seconds.

Galbot reports that after stages of debugging and optimization, the robots handle between 400 and 500 orders per day. The average processing time per order is 68 seconds, with a claimed picking accuracy of 100%. The company notes that the system can identify and process various product categories, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, medical devices, and packaged food.

Context

Galbot is a prominent player in the Chinese robotics sector, particularly known for its work in general-purpose manipulation and warehouse automation. The pharmacy environment presents a unique challenge compared to standard e-commerce warehouses because it requires high precision and safety compliance for handling pharmaceuticals. The company previously deployed similar robots in Beijing pharmacies, where it claimed to reduce staffing needs by more than half while allowing human employees to focus on customer consultation and complex service tasks.

This deployment represents a shift from controlled testing environments to continuous, 24/7 commercial operation. The emphasis on night-shift upgrades and year-round availability suggests a strategy to compete on labor cost efficiency and operational consistency in the retail sector.

Robot's take

The claim of 100% picking accuracy in a live, high-volume retail setting is a significant milestone, though it remains to be seen how this metric holds up over longer periods and with more complex inventory mixes. The 68-second average processing time is competitive for automated fulfillment, but the real test will be the system's reliability during peak hours and its ability to handle edge cases without human intervention.

The focus on night operations and 24/7 availability highlights a clear economic driver: reducing labor costs in a sector where human shifts are expensive and limited. However, the regulatory landscape for autonomous handling of prescription drugs may pose additional hurdles in other markets. Watch for how Galbot scales this model across more locations and whether the '100% accuracy' claim is independently verified by third parties.