Amazon has unveiled Sparrow, its first warehouse robot that can “identify, select, and handle specific objects,” according to the business. According to the corporation, the machine is capable of detecting and managing “millions of objects” and will lessen the repetitive activities that its human employees must do.
The company’s announcement of Sparrow does not specify how it intends to utilise it, but it’s easy to envision many more possibilities for anything that can lift and move individual objects in Amazon’s warehouses.
Amazon has prioritised robotization as concerns regarding workplace safety conditions in its warehouses continue to create a disturbing image and the business suffers a labour shortage. An earlier this year leaked document cautioned that Amazon may be running out of personnel to recruit in certain places. The business launched a new collection of robots in June, including the completely autonomous Proteus, meant to carry vast racks of merchandise throughout the warehouse, and Cardinal, a robotic arm for picking up and transferring parcels weighing up to 50 pounds.
Amazon has insisted that its robots are not taking over human employment. The company’s news release commemorating 10 years of Amazon robotics addressed the notion directly, stating that the company’s objective is to have robots and people “operating safely and happily together to deliver for our customers.”
Thursday’s piece addressed those issues as well, but in a somewhat different tone. The article lists all of the employment established at the firm to build and deploy robots and says that the company would assist workers in “transitioning and advancing their careers into roles working with our technology.” To that purpose, the essay focuses on Amazon’s apprenticeship programme, which is designed to train people how to maintain robotic equipment.
