Amazon Robotics was founded in 2003 with the idea that e-commerce needed better order processing for customers. The company is headquartered in Boston, the epicenter of robotics innovation. Amazon Robotics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com.
Amazon Robotics automates fulfillment center operations using various methods of robotics technology. Reports can be found as short videos on YouTube, which also show the use of robot technology in Germany. The Winsen an der Luhe site became the most modern logistics center in 2017.
This technology from Amazon Robotics includes the following options:
- Autonomous mobile robots
- Highly developed control software
- Speech recognition
- Energy management
- Computer Vision
- Depth detection
- Machine learning
- Object recognition
- Understanding commands
How does the transport robot technology – Amazon Robotics work?
Goods are usually handled either by a conveyor system or by human-operated machines. Machines such as forklift trucks are often used to move the goods in the logistics center. The approach behind this is that the goods are stored in a mobile database and when an order is received, the software controls the nearest automatically guided vehicle (bot).
The mobile robots navigate themselves through the warehouse with the help of computerized barcode stickers on the floor. To avoid collisions, each bot has a sensor on the drive unit. Once the destination is reached, a gondola moves upwards using a corkscrew movement and transports the person to the desired item.
There are currently two different Amazon Robotic models. The smaller model can lift pallets weighing 500 kg and the larger model can even lift 1500 kg. Both devices currently have the signal color orange. The speed is just over 1 meter per second. The battery-powered robots need to be recharged for five minutes every hour.
Automated logistics processes are becoming increasingly important in the e-commerce fulfillment process. This involves the replenishment of stock and the distribution of goods. The entire process with Amazon Robotics is much more efficient and precise than the conventional process, in which a human worker drives to the right shelf, searches for the item and retrieves it.
In September 2017, Amazon had more than 100,000 robots in use.
Amazon buys the Kiva robot systems – isolating the technology
In March 2012, Amazon bought the company Kiva Systems for 775 million US dollars. At the time, this was the second largest investment in the company’s history. Since the acquisition, Kiva Systems has remained very quiet. All marketing activities were discontinued and most of the sales staff were laid off. Although the company is still active in manufacturing processes.
Experts in the industry speculate that Amazon is not interested in sharing this efficient and powerful technology with the competition. In August 2015, the company was officially renamed from Kiva Systems to Amazon Robotics.