Amazon shows the future of e-commerce with robots and drones as allies

The company opened the doors of the BOS27a center for innovation and manufacturing of robots that it has in Boston to show how they now make the robots that work in the company’s distribution centers, as well as the quality tests they carry out with these prototypes that will soon be operating the route of the products that reach the customers’ homes.

“75% of the products that are bought at home have passed through a robot of the company and during these 10 years that we have this center we have worked to have a joint work between robots and humans”, he pointed out during the presentation of the new products, Joe Quinlivan, global vice president of Amazon Robotics.

With 18 invited countries, the company presented Proteus, an evolution of the Hercules robot that allows different objects and packages to be moved in various CEDIS around the world. This new robot has more autonomy and artificial intelligence, in addition to being capable of carrying up to 800 kilos.

Similar to the shape of the iconic Roomba, this new robot is undergoing tests so that after two years of testing it can be assembled and used in the different warehouse sites of the e-commerce company.

Another of the products that they presented during the Delivering the future It was the Sparrow robotic arm, which is the first robotic system that can detect, select and manage individual products in Amazon’s inventory. The team is capable of loading different packages and selecting their destination, through mini vacuum cleaners that take the package and accommodate it inside storage containers.

“Innovation is not only in the robotic evolution, it is even in the shape and size of the packages that are developed and in the synergy that can be had with customers on this subject. The idea is that our collaborators rely on robots to create more efficient production lines and their work is less repetitive”, Quinlivan pointed out.

Innovation through the skies

In September 2020, Amazon obtained permission to operate drones in the United States, specifically in the states of Texas and California and in certain areas, where population density was not a risk.

Now the company has unveiled a new drone prototype that is 25% quieter and 16% lighter than the version it is currently working on and which it hopes to start operating in 2024, according to David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air.

The e-commerce company is one of four allowed to operate with permission from the US Federal Aviation Administration, but that doesn’t mean they should be constantly testing and evaluating new innovation options.

“How to make an effective, cheap, safe and fast delivery? With drones, with this look at the future, we will be able to have this type of equipment operating in the coming years and carrying the brand’s products in less than 30 minutes,” said Carbon, during the presentation of the new equipment.

This drone is capable of carrying packages of up to 5 kilograms and can identify birds, objects and obstacles in the air and on the ground, which prevents accidents in its operation.