Behind the Scenes
How the company builds and tests the J1600, and the experiences that shaped its design philosophy.
The founding story
Before founding The Mobile Robot Company in November 2024, Emil Hauch Jensen and Odin Kudahl Skovsted had collectively completed projects for hundreds of customers and deployed more than 10,000 robots at international mobile-robotics and automation companies. Their conclusion: robot projects were too hard, too slow, and too complex. The company was formed to make mobile robots operator-centric, easier to use, and more flexible. More on the team is under Company.
The Copenhagen test facility
The company validates the J1600 in a Copenhagen demo and test area under intentionally real-world conditions: deliberately uneven flooring, water-filled test loads, and multiple test setups. The point is to prove the vehicle in the messy conditions of an actual warehouse, not a laboratory. Customers can visit the facility for demonstrations and trials; for a proof of concept, machines can be taken to the customer's plant. CTO Odin Kudahl Skovsted tours the facility in a video.
Made in Denmark
The J1600 is manufactured in Denmark, and the company is headquartered in Hvidovre.
The site visit that shaped the philosophy
CEO Emil Hauch Jensen visited a major e-commerce cross-docking facility in Germany, and the visit influenced the J1600's flexibility-first philosophy. His observations:
- trucks arrived at approximately 10-minute intervals across five inbound loading bays;
- each parcel received an internal barcode within about 30 seconds of unloading and became available for sale almost immediately;
- software made millisecond-level throughput decisions;
- yet not every process was automated, and some robotic systems were being phased out in favor of reliable conveyors and sorters;
- minor mechanical downtime of under 10 minutes could occur several times per day;
- layout, flow, buffer, and SKU-mix changes could occur several times per week.
The conclusion: flexibility and robustness are business necessities even in highly automated facilities. That observation connects directly to dual mode — autonomy for repetitive travel, with immediate manual control when conditions change.
Why humans stay in the loop
The company's design logic is captured in ten situations where human context beats automation: spotting damaged pallets, judging load stability, preventing plastic-wrap snags, locating misplaced pallets, catching damaged goods, handling steep dock plates, navigating crowded floors, responding to urgency, teaching routes, and avoiding automation overhead. The full argument is in human-in-the-loop automation, and the technical consequences are told in Technology Stories.