# Team builds instant-retail automated packing robot with open-source LeRobot SO-101 arm, wins first place at hackathon

- Source: Reddit r/robotics
- Published: 2026-10-13T17:33:14.000Z
- RoboHot: https://robohot.news/en/items/bg7i88q7y9pdjb8dagh1krcd1
- Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/robotics/comments/1x533ol/we_built_an_autonomous_packing_robot_for_quick/

## Summary

A team built a proof-of-concept prototype for automated packing in a dark store using the open-source LeRobot SO-101 (SO-ARM101) 3D-printed robotic arm, winning first place at a hackathon. Targeting the high labor costs and slow picking of instant retail, the project used the Hugging Face-supported LeRobot ecosystem to complete teleoperation, data collection, and imitation learning within the hackathon timeframe, enabling the arm to reliably perform pick-and-place tasks, and released a 1-minute demo video.