Amazon unveils warehouse robot with sense of touch, raising more concerns about job losses

[midian182]

What just happened? Amazon has unveiled a revolutionary new robot that has a sense of touch, which will allow it to handle around three quarters of all items in the company's warehouses at a speed comparable to humans. It's a worrying claim for the hundreds of thousands of people in Amazon's facilities, but the company is once again claiming the new robot will work alongside humans, not replace them.

The Vulcan robot represents a "fundamental leap forward in robotics," according to Amazon. It uses a sensor, powered by AI, to essentially feel items it picks up, determining the exact amount of pressure and torque required to safely handle each object.

Vulcan's robotic sense of touch means it is able to pick and stow approximately 75% of the 1 million items at the Amazon fulfillment center in Spokane, Washington, where it has been deployed. The robot arms Amazon currently use in its facilities rely on cameras and suction to manipulate objects, meaning they struggle with many items, especially delicate ones.

Amazon has long said that its robots are there to perform mundane, time-consuming, and dangerous tasks. In Vulcan's case, it will be picking and stowing inventory on the top rows of inventory pods. These rows are about 8 feet high, meaning employees need a ladder to reach them.

Vulcan can also handle items stored just above the floor, which Amazon says allows employees to "work where they're most comfortable." It could also reduce the risk of injuries, something Amazon's facilities are notorious for.

Vulcan is able to manipulate items weighing up to 8 pounds. It operates behind a fence to reduce the risk of accidents involving human workers.

Amazon has increased the number of robots in its warehouses from 350,000 in 2021 to more than 750,000 today. Reports claim they could save the tech giant up to $10 billion a year by 2030, so it's easy to understand why employees are worried, especially as Vulcan is able to work 20 hours per day and at the same speed as a human.

Aaron Parness, who leads the Amazon Robotics team that developed Vulcan, told CNBC that instead of replacing people in warehouses, Vulcan will create new, higher-skilled jobs that involve maintaining, operating, installing, and building the robots. Amazon says it has spent $1.2 billion upskilling human workers since 2019.

Parness added that Amazon would never have a fully automated warehouse in the future. "I don't believe in 100% automation," he said. "If we had to get Vulcan to do 100% of the stows and picks, it would never happen. You would wait your entire life. Amazon understands this."

It's not just Amazon embracing robots that can do human jobs without salaries, breaks, or vacations. GXO Logistics, a global contract logistics company that provides supply chain services to businesses around the world, has been testing the same autonomous machines in its facilities.

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Amazon unveils warehouse robot with sense of touch, raising more concerns about job losses

 

[pnntmp]

If the robot 'raising more concerns' is that on the pictures, that's an ordinary collaborative robot, probably by Universal Robots.
The 'sense of touch' is likely a force feedback, or measuring the current of the motors - another pretty standard thing.

There's nothing "revolutionary" or even remotely resembling a "fundamental leap forward in robotics,"
This robot is really designed to assist people. Amazon is probably trying to nudge its shares by alluding that armies of robots will replace people and increase profits. The latter will likely happen, but not with this thing.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

If domestic robots take American jobs, it's better than foreign countries taking our jobs because at least the money and work is staying in the US. And if we don't build, maintain, and develop the robots, we'll end up buying the robots from other countries. This is important work, and we need to push development of robotics hard because whether you're aware of it or not, China is racing us to replace our productivity.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

If the robot 'raising more concerns' is that on the pictures, that's an ordinary collaborative robot, probably by Universal Robots.
The 'sense of touch' is likely a force feedback, or measuring the current of the motors - another pretty standard thing.

There's nothing "revolutionary" or even remotely resembling a "fundamental leap forward in robotics,"
This robot is really designed to assist people. Amazon is probably trying to nudge its shares by alluding that armies of robots will replace people and increase profits. The latter will likely happen, but not with this thing.

It is using force feedback sensors, but it's also factoring in the size and shape of the object. There are stereo cameras used to do this, and they also ensure only the right object was picked up and placed in a space of a bin it'll fit. It uses AI for some of this, and apparently learns based on how different objects behave when they're touched.

So while the application of hardware is has some of what you describe, the application of software and various sensors definitely seems novel to me.

 

[pnntmp]

It is using force feedback sensors, but it's also factoring in the size and shape of the object. There are stereo cameras used to do this, and they also ensure only the right object was picked up and placed in a space of a bin it'll fit. It uses AI for some of this, and apparently learns based on how different objects behave when they're touched.

So while the application of hardware is has some of what you describe, the application of software and various sensors definitely seems novel to me.

It's possible to attach cameras, 3D scanners and all sorts of other sensors to these robots (to any robots, actually) since years. They were able to detect size, shape, orientation, track & sort moving objects and so on long before LLMs were a thing.
I agree that in this case software is (probably) what makes the difference, but "revolutionary" and "fundamental leap forward in robotics," seem like a serious overhype.

If domestic robots take American jobs, it's better than foreign countries ..

Universal Robots (if indeed that's what this is) is a Danish company.

 

[Zsoltblabla]

So… what you are saying is that you are happy to become obsolate and live in slums on social secirty for the rest of your life, BUT at least the foreigners are not atking your job!

Americans…

 

[OortCloud]

So… what you are saying is that you are happy to become obsolate and live in slums on social secirty for the rest of your life, BUT at least the foreigners are not atking your job!

Americans…

Hehe - haven't you noticed, half the US have lost their tiny minds in the last few years? It's the only possible explanation for voting back into power the Orange Monstrosity.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

It's possible to attach cameras, 3D scanners and all sorts of other sensors to these robots (to any robots, actually) since years. They were able to detect size, shape, orientation, track & sort moving objects and so on long before LLMs were a thing.
I agree that in this case software is (probably) what makes the difference, but "revolutionary" and "fundamental leap forward in robotics," seem like a serious overhype.


Universal Robots (if indeed that's what this is) is a Danish company.

They said the same thing when Apple came out with the iPhone but where are the Blackberries now? Intelligent robotics is the revolution that can replace far more manual labor.

Universal Robots has nothing to do with this. Why don't you read the blog from Amazon instead of guessing and assuming you know what you're talking about? It's in the original post: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-vulcan-robot-pick-stow-touch

Amazon develop and manufacture their own robots. They bought Kiva Systems in 2012 and they don't buy robots from the American owned Universal Robots. They have 750,000 of these in operation and Vulcan is their fourth robotic arm that this article is talking about.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

If a corpo is telling you they're doing something to help their employees be more productive... they're telling you they want less people to do more work.

How many times do we have to ride this ride to get it?

 

[daffy duck]

What are you talking about, Amazon has no concerns whatsoever about job losses.