5 days ago
Amazon working on humanoid robots that will deliver parcels, testing set to start soon
Amazon is getting ready to test humanoid robots that could one day help deliver packages. According to a report by The Information, the company is working on special software to power these robots, while the physical machines will be provided by other companies for now. The tests are said to take place in a specially built indoor obstacle course called a 'humanoid park' at one of Amazon's offices in San Francisco. This setup will allow the company to see how well the robots can move through real-world delivery has not yet made an official statement on this development. However, the move fits into the company's larger push to use artificial intelligence to make its operations faster and more efficient. From smarter warehouse robots to AI-powered delivery systems, Amazon has been increasing its reliance on technology to stay ahead in the e-commerce company has already made huge progress in speeding up delivery. Since launching Prime in 2005, it introduced two-day shipping, followed by one-day delivery in 2019. Later, with the help of generative AI, it aimed for same-day deliveries.
In a 2024 interview with CNBC, Steve Armato, Amazon's Vice President of Transportation Technology and Services, said that 60 per cent of Prime orders in the top 60 US cities were delivered on the same or next day. He explained that AI helps the company place products closer to customers, which cuts down delivery began using transformer-based AI models in 2020 to improve how it predicts demand and manages its supply chain. These models also help warehouse robots move more smoothly and avoid collisions. However, not everyone sees this change as entirely positive. There are concerns about how AI and automation could affect jobs. According to CNBC, the number of robots in Amazon's warehouses has more than doubled from 2021 to 2023, raising fears that machines might slowly replace human the same time, energy use is another concern. Generative AI systems require large amounts of power, which could increase Amazon's environmental Amazon appears confident that technology is the way forward. Testing humanoid robots for delivery could be its next big step in redefining how online orders reach customers. Whether this will lead to faster services, fewer human jobs, or both remains to be seen.
