How Calmantech Aims to Beat Cheap Robots with Smarter Design

In the high-stakes world of logistics, space is money—and mobility is everything. Traditional warehouse robots often struggle in tight spaces, slowing down operations or forcing costly redesigns. Calmantech, a Korean robotics company, thinks it has a better way forward. At CES 2026, it will promote its Ball Whell Technology as used in the CMB-90: a compact, omnidirectional warehouse robot built for the next generation of high-efficiency distribution centers.

The problem Calmantech set out to solve is clear: warehouses are getting more crowded, and the demand for faster throughput keeps growing. Most legacy robots rely on fixed paths or wide turning circles, which doesn’t work well in the narrow corridors and compact layouts of some fulfillment centers. Humans can pivot and turn inside a three-foot-wide aisle—why not robots?

Unfortunately, there’s a severe shortage of (human) labor in many parts of the world, including South Korea, and the need for robots has never been greater in some areas.

Enter the CMB-90 (photo above). This robot stands out thanks to its “Ball Wheel Technology,” which is similar in concept to the ball mechanism used in old-school computer mice with an actual ball inside. Rather than rolling on fixed wheels, the CMB-90 glides across floors using friction-based ball wheels that allow for movement in any direction—forward, sideways, or a spin in place. This makes the robot especially nimble in confined spaces, cutting down travel time and increasing the amount of usable warehouse floor.

The innovation doesn’t stop at movement. The CMB-90 supports a payload of up to 90 kilograms. While it can move in any direction, the robot is optimized for forward motion, assisted by a robust vision system: a two RGB camera module in the front, and additional cameras in the back, left, and right. This setup gives it a wide field of view for obstacle avoidance and spatial awareness, even in dynamic environments.

Like many modern warehouse robots, the CMB-90 communicates through a mesh Wi-Fi network, transmitting data continuously for real-time fleet management. However, Calmantech understands that most facilities cannot simply replace their old infrastructure overnight. That’s why the CMB-90 is built to co-exist with legacy robots, making it easier for companies to upgrade gradually instead of committing to a full system replacement.

Calmantech CEO, Jaehwan Choi (left)

A natural question is whether Calmantech’s ball-based mobility might be prone to dust or debris. The company acknowledges that, like any friction-based system, cleanliness matters—but says the benefits far outweigh the trade-offs, especially in new facilities designed with robotics in mind. The company says its Ball-Wheel could withstand industrial conditions.

The business challenge is stiff. Calmantech is entering a global market where Chinese-made robots dominate on price. But the company is betting that speed, efficiency, and flexible deployment will win out in the long run, especially in Europe and the U.S. Their strategy focuses on new build-outs first, where warehouses can be designed from the ground up to take advantage of CMB-90’s compact footprint and superior agility.

The design lands itself to many adaptation, and Calmantech made sure this platform is customizable and many different types of robots can be built based on the wheel platform.

Founded in Korea, Calmantech is no stranger to difficult environments. Its early work targeted aging industrial zones with declining populations and poor working conditions. That history has shaped its mission: to create robots that can do more with less—less space, less time, and ultimately, less cost.

With the CMB-90, Calmantech isn’t just making another warehouse robot. It’s offering a smarter, more agile coworker that fits into the modern logistics puzzle without asking the whole system to change. And that might be exactly what the industry needs.

Filed in Robots. Read more about CES, Korea and Robotics.