In context
By late 2023, Amazon had deployed over 750,000 robots in its warehouses, working alongside employees on repetitive tasks. The company was preparing for the holiday season, aiming to improve fulfillment speed and accuracy while enhancing worker safety.
What was reported
Amazon introduced Sequoia, a new robotic system now operating at a Houston fulfillment center. Sequoia integrates mobile robots, gantry systems, robotic arms, and a new ergonomic workstation to containerize inventory into totes. This system speeds up inventory identification and storage by up to 75%, and reduces order processing time by up to 25%, enabling more items to be offered for Same-Day or Next-Day shipping.
Employees work at ergonomic stations that keep tasks within the 'power zone' (mid-thigh to mid-chest height), reducing the need to reach overhead or squat. Amazon's newest robotic arm, Sparrow, handles the repetitive task of consolidating inventory in totes, allowing full totes to be returned to storage.
Amazon also began testing mobile manipulator solutions at its R&D site near Seattle, including Digit, a bipedal robot from Agility Robotics, a company in Amazon's Industrial Innovation Fund. Digit can move, grasp, and handle items in spaces designed for humans, and its initial use will be for tote recycling—picking up and moving empty totes.
Why it mattered
These developments highlight Amazon's shift toward integrated, collaborative robotics that work alongside employees, not replace them. The company reported that in 2022, recordable incident rates were 15% lower and lost-time incident rates 18% lower at robotics sites compared to non-robotics sites. This approach could set a template for human-robot collaboration in large-scale logistics, balancing automation with workforce safety and job creation.
"Ensuring robotics are collaborative and support employees is central to how Amazon designs or deploys systems like Sequoia and Digit."
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2023-10-18 · “Amazon adds two new robots, including one humanoid, to the 750,000 already working in its warehouses”