Have you ever thought about how Amazon manages to deliver your stuff at such a fast pace? You may have guessed the involvement of robots at some level, but how much involvement do you expect?
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, is obsessed with streamlining his warehouse floor. In 2012, he purchased Kiva Systems, a leading Robotics company for $775 million, and rebranded it as Amazon Robotics. The robots from this subsidiary of Amazon provide much of the handiwork in the middle of the floor. Here is how much they are involved!
The robots work in perfect synchronization to transport goods from one place to another.
First, the workers stack shelves with the merchandise. They don’t have to follow a particular pattern because the robot can take care of it as long as it knows the exact location.
Then the robots bring the product to a different set of Amazon workers who place them in different boxes according to the order. Previously, the workers had to browse manually through the inventory to search for the product. Now, the packaging of the order has become much simpler.
These robots can make shipment boxes with ease.
And then there are the robots used for lifting heavy packages.
The standard Amazon Robotics Cute robot moves around the warehouse with items.
These robots have become the backbone of the Amazon’s shipping juggernaut with over 15,000 of them working in different capacities in over 50 fulfillment centers by 2014.
In 2015, the number jumped to almost 30,000 robots, and this number is expected to rise in the coming years.
The robots have motion sensors to avoid collisions with obstacles, including people.
They are also much more efficient than people in stacking and carrying things. They can organize stuff into tighter rows and thus, save 50% valuable space in the process.
The robotic automation has allowed the e-commerce Goliath to house 50% more merchandise and reach even more customers! Robots are surely going to replace us lazy humans soon! What is your opinion?
GIFs: Giphy
Images: Time Magazine