Ten years after the acquisition of the robotics company Kiva Systems, Amazon just introduced, during the re:MARS event, several automated systems for its logistics warehouses. Objective: to increase productivity while guaranteeing the safety of its employees.
Amazon introduces four robotic systems
A year ago, Amazon presented four robots aimed at improving the safety of its workers, they will now be joined by other devices. All the systems unveiled by the e-commerce giant have been developed in-house. ” It’s concrete. There’s a big difference between doing something in a lab or something you show off on YouTube and something we’ll deploy in our fulfillment centers. ”, explains Tye Brady, chief technologist of Amazon Robotics, to Forbes.
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Proteus, a fully autonomous robot
The company has unveiled Proteus, its first fully autonomous mobile robot. Its purpose is to move large carts around its warehouses, and it’s mostly able to move around while avoiding humans in front of it, unlike Amazon’s other robotic systems.
In a demonstration video, a person can be seen standing in his way, forcing the robot to go around him. Proteus uses machine learning to organize packages and load them in the correct order.
No more manual scanning
Next, Amazon presented a new system that was supposed to make the work of its employees easier. Thanks to a combination of machine learning and a 120 frames per second camera system, they will no longer need to scan the barcode of packages manually: the technology recognizes the label itself, so that the worker does not need to take a break to scan it.
This system has similarities with the Just Walk Out technology implemented in Amazon Go stores and marketed to other brands. ” It seems so simple, and we’re so proud because it seems so simple enthuses Tye Brady.
A new robotic arm called Cardinal
The firm also announced a robotic system called Cardinal. It is a robotic arm capable of lifting and moving packages weighing up to 15 kilograms. The device uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to select a package from a stack, lift it, and place it in a cart, allowing packages to be sorted sooner and reducing the risk of injury.
Cardinal is an extension of another device called Robin and presented last year by Amazon.
Optimize container storage
Finally, the company has developed a robotic system to optimize container storage. As Forbes explains, it changes the way items are moved, placing containers in larger containers that can navigate through the warehouse.
Software determines which basket contains the container with the required product, where this container is located and how to grab it and pull it towards the employee. Thanks to this system, the latter avoids bending or climbing to reach the objects he needs.
Security… and productivity
The e-commerce giant hopes to deploy these different devices in these warehouses very soon. ” Today, when we are no longer looking for physical capacity or staff, our teams are focused on improving productivity and profitability across our fulfillment network. says Brady. As a reminder, Amazon is experiencing some difficulties after having recorded exponential growth during the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2022, the company announced a net loss of $3.8 billion.
In addition to increasing productivity, Amazon wants its robotic systems to ensure more safety for its employees. It must be said that the reputation of the company in this area is not really graceful; a group of unions claimed that the injury rate for workers in Amazon warehouses is almost twice that of other companies in the same industry. However, if these robots are going to take on heavy tasks, they could create a very high and difficult pace for employees to follow, notes The Verge.
Recently, workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York voted to form a union. The company formally opposed this, and was even accused of illegal practices in order to prevent its creation.