Los Angeles, California, USA: An Indian-origin student, Yash Phalle, has contributed significantly to the development of an autonomous forklift and its supporting robotics systems during his co-op term at Warp, a logistics technology company headquartered in Los Angeles, USA.
Phalle, who is pursuing his studies at Northeastern University, was instrumental in building Warp’s initial robotics framework. His work included creating digital twin simulations, computer-vision components, and warehouse-mapping tools that now form the backbone of the company’s automation system.
As reported by Northeastern University, Warp’s CEO and co-founder, Daniel Sokolovsky, said the company wanted to automate the storage segment of its pallet-handling operations. He noted that Phalle was involved from the earliest concept discussions to the development of the navigation systems that allow the autonomous forklift to operate inside the warehouse.
While working at Warp’s prototype lab in Los Angeles, Phalle first created a digital representation of the warehouse—complete with aisles, pallet racks, and structural pillars—to help guide autonomous movement. He then used a quadruped robot fitted with a 360-degree lidar unit to scan the warehouse, identify obstacles, and capture detailed structural data.
“The robot’s primary function was to walk through the warehouse, perform scans, and highlight any issues we needed to address,” Phalle explained to the university’s press team.
The technologies he designed now allow Warp’s autonomous forklift to move with precise coordinates while handling pallets. Although his co-op term ended before the forklift was fully deployed, Sokolovsky confirmed that the computer-vision system is up and running.
“The robot is now fully connected to the computer-vision setup, and we’re able to control it through that system,” the CEO said. He added that Phalle’s early contributions were crucial: “He essentially launched our robotics initiative. It didn’t exist before Yash joined us.”
After completing his co-op, Phalle continued expanding his robotics expertise as a research assistant at Northeastern’s Dependable Autonomy Laboratory. His current work focuses on real-time hybrid control techniques for obstacle avoidance, using visual-language models and reinforcement learning.
Besides research, he also serves as a teaching assistant in AI-related courses, guiding students and professionals in areas such as generative AI, large language models, and automation technologies.
Phalle is enrolled in the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence program at Northeastern’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences and has earned strong grades in machine learning, reinforcement learning, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. He previously completed his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at the Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology.
