Amazon has shown its most recent warehouse robot. “Sparrow is our warehouse’s first robotic system that can recognise, select, and handle individual goods in our inventory,” it claims. According to Amazon, the robotic arm recognises and handles millions of objects using AI and computer vision.
According to the corporation, using robots in its warehouses allows it to run operations more effectively and securely. Amazon said, “Sparrow will take over monotonous jobs, allowing our staff to spend their time and attention on other things while simultaneously enhancing safety.” “At the same time, Sparrow will assist us in increasing efficiency by automating a vital component of our fulfilment process, allowing us to continue to deliver for clients.” It went on to say that by using robots, it was able to generate over 700 new employment categories.
Amazon does not have a perfect track record regarding warehouse working conditions, especially when robots are involved. The Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal magazine published research in 2020 suggesting that the incidence of major accidents caused by Amazon workers at automated warehouses was 50 per cent greater than at facilities that did not utilise robots between 2016 and 2019.
According to the study, the deployment of robots caused Amazon to raise employees’ quotas, asking them to scan up to 400 items each hour when they were previously required to scan 100. “The statistics back up the testimonies of Amazon warehouse employees and former safety specialists who say the corporation has exploited the robots to ramp up production quotas to the point where people can’t keep up without injuring themselves,” according to the study.
In July, it was revealed that the US government was investigating Amazon for suspected dangerous working conditions. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted inspections “related, among other things, to Amazon’s necessary work tempo for its warehouse workers.”
Amazon unveiled Sparrow in the midst of a movement by warehouse employees to unionise their jobs, where robots are taking over specific responsibilities. Workers at the JFK8 fulfilment facility on Staten Island decided to unionise in March, making them the first Amazon warehouse to do so. The firm has disputed the election outcome. Workers at an Albany, New York facility recently voted against unionisation after Amazon launched an anti-union campaign.
