Amazon Recruits New Robot That Can Distinguish Between Millions Of Products
Say hello to ‘Sparrow’, Amazon’s latest intelligent robotic system that aims to speed up the fulfillment process with the ability to distinguish and move millions of individual products before they’re packed for shipment.
Now, the sophisticated technology can move items in an order to be packaged by employees, and once they’re boxed up, existing counterparts—including robotic arms ‘Robin’ and ‘Cardinal’—will redirect the boxes to various locations in the warehouse to be delivered.
Incredibly, Sparrow is the first robotic system created by the e-retail giant’s in-house engineers that’s able to detect, select, and handle individual products within its expansive inventory, demonstrating a major advancement in industrial robotics.
By using computer vision and artificial intelligence, the system can recognize millions of different items, and will no doubt save the retailer tons of time on the approximately 13 million packages it sends out each day.
“Working with our employees, Sparrow will take on repetitive tasks, enabling our employees to focus their time and energy on other things, while also advancing safety,” the company explains.
Additionally, Amazon claims the deployment of the technology will help create new categories of jobs within the firm, leading to the employment of tens of thousands of staff that tangibly demonstrates “the positive impact technology and robotics can have for our employees.”
In the same vein, staff members looking to dabble in technology can sign up for the Amazon Mechatronic and Robotics apprenticeship program, a 12-week course sponsored by the company.
The educational scheme includes 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and industry-recognized certifications, and sees pay increases of about 40% for program participants, allowing for more opportunities for one to grow their skills and career.
There’s no doubt Amazon is looking to continue innovating and speeding up its packaging and delivery process for customers. The retailer recently unveiled a new drone that aims to deliver its packages to customers no matter the weather, boasting the ability to fly even in the rain.
