Danish startup wins IFOY Award for self-driving pallet jack

The Mobile Robot Company won the IFOY Award 2026 in Stuttgart for J1600, a self-driving pallet jack designed to automate repetitive transport while keeping workers in control. The win gives the young Danish robotics startup a major validation as warehouses look for simpler, lower-friction automation.

Why it matters: - J1600 targets one of logistics' most common pain points: repetitive pallet transport that drains time and attention from skilled workers. - The win signals growing demand for automation that supports workers instead of replacing them. - The award gives a 2024-founded startup independent validation in a field dominated by large industrial players.

What happened: - The Mobile Robot Company ApS won the IFOY Award 2026 in the Industrial Truck of the Year category. - The winning product was J1600 self-driving pallet jack. - The award was announced in connection with TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS in Dortmund, Germany. - The IFOY Award is the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year. - The 2026 competition included 49 products and solutions, with 17 reaching the final audit stage. - An independent international jury of specialist editors selected the winners.

The details: - J1600 is a dual-use pallet jack that can run manually like a standard electric pallet truck or move autonomously between stored destinations. - Workers can use the unit in hands-on mode when human judgment is needed. - A worker selects a stored destination on a touchscreen and starts the task. - The pallet jack then drives itself to the destination while the worker moves on to the next job. - New destinations can be saved by driving the truck manually to the desired location and pressing “Save Location” on the touchscreen. - Training takes about 30 minutes. - Wi-Fi is optional. - The system does not require mandatory IT infrastructure or systems integration. - IFOY's assessment says J1600 can reduce manual work in repetitive transport tasks by up to 80%. - The truck can carry loads up to 1,600 kg. - It uses 3D LiDAR SLAM technology supported by an industrial NVIDIA Jetson AI computer. - The system navigates dynamic warehouse and production environments. - The design includes layered safety features, including 3D mapping, two 2D safety LiDARs, certified components, emergency stop functions and a 360-degree safety field. - The safety zone adapts to vehicle speed. - Workers can take control back immediately at any time. - The IFOY Test Report said the system addresses demand for flexible automation without the complexity and cost of large automation projects.

Between the lines: - The victory pits a little more than one-year-old startup against established rivals STILL and Crown in the same category. - That comparison underscores a shift in intralogistics toward simpler tools built around real warehouse behavior. - The company argues the next wave of automation will come from practical robots that fit existing operations, not from massive system overhauls. - The IFOY Innovation Check described J1600 as a “game changer” for low-threshold automation in intralogistics. - The product reflects a “human-in-the-loop” approach, where the robot handles routine driving and the worker keeps decision-making authority. - The company was founded in November 2024 by Emil Hauch Jensen and Odin Kudahl Skovsted. - The first product launched in 2026. - The company has already signed distribution partnerships in eight countries. - More than one million pallet trucks are sold globally each year, and much of that work remains manual.

What's next: - The Mobile Robot Company plans to push J1600 as a practical option for warehouses and production sites that want automation without major IT changes or infrastructure work. - The company is betting that adoption will come from teams that can understand, trust and use the robot from day one. - The broader test will be whether human-in-the-loop automation can scale across small and mid-sized operations as well as fast-changing environments.

The bottom line: - J1600 won not for replacing workers, but for preserving worker control while automating the most repetitive part of the job.