Føtex trials humanoid robots for night-time shelf restocking in Denmark

Føtex is testing humanoid robots for shelf replenishment at its Lyngby store, according to a September report from Dansk Erhverv [4]. HIVE Robots and føtex announced their multi-year development partnership on 11 March 2026, planning initial trials outside shopping hours [2]. HIVE reported in August that testing was underway in a working føtex supermarket with Salling Group [7].

Human operators remain involved

An 11 October Euronews report identifies Unitree as the hardware builder and HIVE as the Danish developer [1]. It says training began in June and operators still direct each movement as the system learns product handling [1]. HIVE’s retail service uses its Heimdall platform for remote piloting and AI data collection, with trained people available to assist the robots [3].

Different expectations for autonomy

Euronews describes an ambition for independent shelf replenishment by early 2027, chiefly after the supermarket closes [1]. In contrast, the 10 September Dansk Erhverv article paraphrases føtex executive Simon Kudsk as saying the robot is still learning, and quotes him saying fully autonomous movement around the store remains several years away [4]. The two reports do not explain whether these timelines concern different tasks or operating conditions [1][4].

HIVE’s separate 2027 launch-partner plan also retains human involvement [3]. Its second and third phases specify continuous human monitoring; only the fourth phase proposes one operator supervising multiple robots as AI handles a larger share of the work [3]. These are planned stages of the service, rather than evidence that the føtex trial has already achieved autonomy [1][3].

Model identity and the database update

The pilot sources reviewed here do not identify a robot model [1][2][7]. HIVE sells several Unitree models, including the G1, H2 and R1, but its shop listings do not establish which robot is used at føtex [6].

The G1 database update concerns Danish resale and an award: DIRA’s own 7 May announcement confirms that HIVE resells the G1 in Denmark and nominated it for the 2026 DIRA Technology Prize, which it won [5][8]. This supports the new distribution feature; it does not identify the supermarket robot [1][8].