How Locus is getting a grasp on one of robotics biggest challenges: manipulation

NeuraGrasp can grasp a wide range of items, from small containers to porous polybags and cloth items. | Source: Locus Robotics

Locus Robotics Corp. has successfully tackled many robotic challenges in real working environments. Its autonomous mobile robots, or AMRs, have navigated countless miles in a variety of facilities, and they have aided in more than 6 billion picks. Now, its targeting manipulation.

The company entered the robotic picking space in March 2025 when it unveiled Array , a mobile manipulator equipped with a custom-developed, vision-guided picking arm. Over a year later, Locus acquired Nexera Robotics, which is known for its NeuraGrasp gripping technology.

According to Roy Belak, the senior vice president of robotic grasping at Locus and former CEO of Nexera , by the time it came in contact with Locus, Nexera had already spent years refining its unique, soft end effectors. It had already gone through at least six different product generations, he said.

“Just as we were getting to that point where the technology was showing its compelling capabilities, we were at a fortuitous situation where we met with Locus at MODEX , and I think the history kind of writes itself from there,” Belak told The Robot Report .

The timing was ideal for both companies. Locus wanted to be able to handle more SKUs in its facilities, and Vancouver, Canada-based Nexera was ready to scale.

“We want to see this technology deployed at scale,” said Belak. “That’s something that excites me as somebody who’s an innovator and building something. You just want to see it out there widely, and that seemed like it was a great opportunity.”

Nexera met Locus in 2025, when Locus was planning its early market release for Array. At the time, Array had a standard suction-cup gripper. Belak said the companies spent a lot of time figuring out how to fit Nexera’s technology into Array’s development so late in the game.

Luckily, even though Locus was already far into its process of developing Array, the robot was already well prepared for Nexera’s technology. Array already had an air supply, a power supply, and other things that Nexera’s technology needed.

“There was a lot of work that was done prior to the acquisition to make sure the technology could be slipped into the development stream,” recalled Belak. “I think it we had missed that window by another year, it probably would have been really hard to make those changes.”

While Belak did not give an exact timeline of when customers could gain access to Nexera’s technology, he said he is optimistic about the process. Belak said he expects that the next time Array is displayed publicly, it will likely have Nexera technology.