Amazon on Wednesday unveiled a new robotic system that’s capable of performing multiple tasks at once in the company’s warehouses.
The system, called Blue Jay, is made up of a series of robotic arms that are suspended from a conveyor belt-like track. Those arms are tipped with suction-cup devices that allow them to grab and sort items of varying shapes and sizes.
Blue Jay combines “what used to be three separate robotic stations into one streamlined workplace that can pick, sort, and consolidate in a single place,” Amazon said in a blog.
The robotic system’s goal is to assist employees with otherwise strenuous tasks “while creating greater efficiency in less physical space,” the company said.
Amazon is testing Blue Jay at one of its warehouses in South Carolina. So far, the company has observed that the system is able to pick, pack, stow and consolidate “approximately 75% of items we store at our sites.”
Blue Jay joins a growing fleet of robotic machinery being deployed across Amazon’s legions of warehouses. Over the past several years, Amazon has debuted robots capable of handling different tasks, ranging from removing items from shelves to sorting boxes. In May, it debuted “Vulcan,” a robotic system that has a sense of touch.
Amazon’s warehouse automation efforts were largely jumpstarted by its $775 million acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012.
The announcement comes as Amazon’s warehouse automation has come under growing scrutiny, particularly over how the technology is impacting its sprawling frontline workforce.
The New York Times on Tuesday published an investigation showing that Amazon’s automation team expects that it can avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in the U.S. by 2027, amounting to savings of about 30 cents on every item that Amazon packs and delivers. The report was based on interviews and internal strategy documents, the Times said.
In response to the report, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that the documents offer an “incomplete and misleading picture of our plans.”
“In this instance, the materials appear to reflect the perspective of just one team and don’t represent our overall hiring strategy across our various operations business lines — now or moving forward,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Amazon has said that by further automating its warehouses it could improve worker safety and reduce injuries, but that prospect has been debated. A report by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting in 2020 found the company’s warehouses with robots have higher injury rates than facilities without automation.
Amazon said last week that it plans to hire 250,000 workers for full-time and part-time roles this holiday shopping season, the same number as the past two years.
As the nation’s second-largest private employer, Amazon’s automation playbook could become a bellwether for the broader job market and other corporations. The company had more than 1.54 million employees globally at the end of the second quarter. That figure excludes delivery drivers, which are contracted through third-party firms.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimated in a Wednesday note that Amazon’s rollout of automated warehouses, combined with lower labor and fulfillment costs, could generate savings of up to $4 billion by 2027.
The company on Wednesday said that employees remain “at the center” of its robotics development. Amazon said its goal is to “reduce physically demanding tasks, simplify decisions and open new career opportunities” for workers.
Amazon has sought to highlight how increasing automation in its facilities will lead to employees adopting “more rewarding” roles within the company. It offers an apprenticeship program in mechatronics and robotics, which involves honing skills around maintaining and monitoring robotic machinery.
Smart glasses for drivers
Amazon on Wednesday also unveiled a pair of augmented reality glasses for delivery drivers that it says can assist with their day to day tasks.
The glasses are equipped with artificial intelligence, sensors and cameras that can scan packages. The glasses can also show drivers turn-by-turn directions, hazards and reminders via display that overlays information in their field of view. The device can also generate audio alerts warning drivers if there’s a dog on a customer’s property.
The system comes with a small controller attached to a delivery driver’s vest that has a “dedicated emergency button” they can use to reach emergency services while on the road.
Amazon said it tested versions of the glasses with hundreds of drivers to help inform the device’s design.
The company relies on thousands of contracted delivery firms to drop packages at shoppers’ doorsteps. It’s injected more and more technology into their workflow over the past few years, including video cameras, smartphone apps that track and score their driving behavior and AI tools that can help drivers identify the correct package to be delivered at each stop.
WATCH: Meet Vulcan, Amazon’s new stowing robot that can feel what it touches
