Amazon has announced two new robotic technologies that will help the company with the upcoming holiday season.
One system, called Sequoia, is currently operating at the company's fulfillment centers in Dallas. It allows the company to identify and store inventory at fulfillment centers up to 75% faster than they are currently doing. It also reduces the time it takes to process an order through a fulfillment center by up to 25%, which improves shipping predictability and increases the number of goods that can be offered for same-day or next-day shipping.
Sequoia integrates multiple robot systems to containerize our inventory into totes, bringing together mobile robots, gantry systems, robotic arms, and a new ergonomic employee workstation, Amazon explained The system works by having mobile robots transport containerized inventory directly to a gantry, a tall frame with a platform supporting equipment that can either restock totes or send them to an employee to pick out inventory that customers have ordered. These totes come to employees at a newly-designed ergonomic workstation that allows them to do all their work in their power zone, between mid-thigh and mid-chest height. With this system, employees will no longer have to regularly reach above their heads or squat down to pick customer orders, supporting our efforts to reduce the risk of injuries.
The other robotic system, called Digit, is a bipedal robot, that resulted from a partnership between Amazon and Agility Robotics. Digit can move, grasp, and handle items in spaces and corners of warehouses in novel ways. Its size and shape are well suited for buildings that are designed for humans. The initial use of this technology will be helping employees with tote recycling. "We believe that there is a big opportunity to scale a mobile manipulator solution, such as Digit, which can work collaboratively with employees," Amazon said on the company's website.
