Automation in warehouses is becoming increasingly common, and Amazon has become a leader in this area. Robots are taking over tasks related to transporting, sorting and packing packages, increasing efficiency and speeding up order fulfillment. By using artificial intelligence and advanced robotics, the company optimizes logistics processes while reducing the burden on employees.
Robots are playing an increasingly important role in warehouse networks, and artificial intelligence allows large companies to implement these technologies on a large scale to beat the competition in terms of service convenience and efficiency. In Poland, 3 of the company's 11 logistics centers are fully robotized: in Gliwice, Świebodzin and Kołbaskowo near Szczecin.
Amazon is testing increasingly advanced systems to make its sortation and fulfillment centers more efficient. The investments in robotics and AI are part of the company’s planned $100 billion in capital spending this year.
Hundreds of thousands of robots in Amazon warehouses
Seattle-based Amazon is now one of the world’s largest users of industrial robots, and its demand for the technology is growing as CEO Andy Jassy seeks to significantly shorten delivery times.
The Financial Times quotes Tye Brady, chief technology officer of Amazon Robotics, as saying, “Our robotics impact billions of packages we ship every year,” and that it is a “great enabler” that increases productivity while reducing the burden and repetitiveness of human work.
Jeff Bezos’ company has expanded its robotics operations significantly since acquiring startup Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012. After rebranding as Amazon Robotics, the company has deployed more than 750,000 mobile robots and tens of thousands of robotic arms and autonomous systems .
Amazon currently uses eight different types of robots in its fulfillment centers, ranging from robotic arms to heavy lifting equipment and sorting machines.
Robot skills
The first mobile robot in Amazon's warehouses was Kiva, which lifted and moved shelves of goods. This system evolved into robots called Hercules (launched in 2017) and Titan (launched in 2023), which lift up to 560 and 1,130 kg, respectively.
Amazon has also deployed robotic arms, such as Robin and Cardinal (in use since 2022, both can lift packages up to 22 kg), which use suction cups, sensors, and cameras to safely lift and move items without damaging them. Other machines help move, pack, and sort goods as efficiently as possible.
photo NICK IWANYSHYN / FORUM
Amazon's software and tools are tailored to hardware manufactured by companies such as Switzerland's ABB and America's Fanuc.
Robotics have been implemented at every step of Amazon’s fulfillment process, but the company emphasizes that humans still play a critical role in its operations .
Robotization and employees
The Financial Times also quotes Eva Ponce, director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, who believes that technology is replacing some jobs, especially those related to manual labor, but at the same time it is creating new opportunities in warehouses. “Companies are increasingly investing in developing the skills of their employees, preparing them for a new way of working. More complex tasks will still require people .”
Amazon workers still have to deal with oddly shaped packages, mislabeled shipments and returns that require inspection. Since 2019, Amazon has spent about $1.2 billion training workers to maintain the robots. The company has pushed back against accusations that it wants to replace humans entirely with machines, saying it employs more than a million more people than it did in 2012, when it bought Kiva.
Still, working conditions in Amazon warehouses remain a contentious issue. The Financial Times notes that labor groups warn that automation is increasing the pace of work and leading to more injuries. A U.S. Senate report in December found that Amazon warehouses had 30% more injuries than the industry average .
Amazon defends itself by saying that robotics and AI play a key role in improving safety at the company, reducing the need for heavy lifting and improving the ergonomics of workstations.
Does automation actually increase efficiency?
Amazon’s primary goal for investing in robotics is to reduce costs and maintain competitive prices while meeting delivery plans within hours. During a recent conference call with investors, Andy Jassy assured that the company will continue to invest in automation.
Amazon’s newly opened warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, has ten times more robots than previous facilities. The company estimates that it has reduced its fulfillment costs by 25 percent as a result. According to Morgan Stanley, continued investment in automated warehouses will save Amazon about $10 billion annually by 2030.
Amazon is creating increasingly advanced robots
Amazon’s competitors, including Walmart, are also investing heavily in robotics and automation. Eva Ponce notes that companies are adopting these technologies at an increasingly rapid pace, especially in the face of labor shortages: “These technologies are revolutionary. The warehouse of the future is a combination of robotics, sensors and vision systems.”
Amazon is making further progress in its use of artificial intelligence. Proteus (in use since 2022) is a fully autonomous robot that can move completely freely around the warehouse (unlike Titan and Hercules, which can only be used in designated areas). Thanks to the use of computer vision (an artificial intelligence system that analyzes the environment in real time), it can move alongside people.
Proteus has allowed the company to reduce its warehouse space, and working with Nvidia to create so-called digital twins (virtual replicas of warehouses) allows Amazon to train autonomous robots at an unprecedented pace.
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