They carry palettes, order the packages or pack the packages. Amazon is expanding its robots fleet exponentially. A way for the brand to meet the growing demand for deliveries. But Amazon could soon cross a symbolic course using more robots than humans in their stores.
The gradual introduction of machines since 2012 has become a showcase for Amazon. The company aims to be a pioneer in industry 4.0 (where robots occupy a predominant place) by trusting repetitive tasks to automatizers. According to information from the Wall Street Journal, almost 75% of deliveries to the United States are assisted by a robot.
A matter of the month
Amazon has 1,556,000 employees today, most of whom work in distribution centers, according to the site Explosive topics. During the last year, the Amazon workforce has increased by 35,000, after three years of consecutive decrease that have caused the abolition of almost 87,000 positions.
In parallel, the company welcomes A press release of the implementation of his millionth robot inside his warehouses. The robot in question was inaugurated in a Japanese signature site. Therefore, the distribution centers experience accelerated robotization with the deployment of 250,000 units in one year.
In parallel, these two figures confirm that robots will soon be more numerous and is just a matter of a few years or even a few months. It is still too early to find out if Amazon is directed towards a collaboration operation between humans and machines or if the company will gradually replace its employees.
Robots with multiple tasks
The company has a multitude of automated machines for different tasks. Then we think of robots that transport packages or palettes. Amazon has several models to carry out this mission, in this case Hercules, Pegasus and Proteus, each with their specificities.
His last robotic arm called Vulcan is with sensors that offer him the sense of touch. This technology makes it able to make the packaging.
Amazon is also based on AI to optimize the work of its machines as explained in its press release. Called Deepfleet, this technology could reduce robots trips with 10%.
Today, Amazon has more than 300 distribution centers, including 8 in France. Its French staff represents more than 25,000 employees with permanent contracts. The American giant provides the opening of a ninth center in Illiers-Corpray (in Eure-Et-Loir) by the end of 2026. In a press release, Patrick Labarre, president of Amazon France Logistics, said that this new site will be equipped with the “latest robotic technologies developed by Amazon.”
Source: BFM TV
