Brady also touched on Amazon's Industrial Innovation Fund, which supports companies like Agility, and the company's efforts to move automation outside the cage, reducing injury rates. He also mentioned the company's interest in mobile manipulation, combining mobile robots with manipulation systems. Brady emphasized that people will always be at the center of the robotics universe, and the company is interested in how people perceive robotics. Amazon is also partnering with MIT/Ipsos to gauge what both workers and consumers think about industrial robots.
Key takeaways:
- Amazon made several announcements on the robotics front, including the delivery of medications via drone in College Station, Texas, and plans to launch the service in a third U.S. city, as well as in the U.K. and Germany next year.
- The company introduced a new first-party system, Sequoia, which can identify and store inventory at fulfillment centers up to 75% faster than the current system, reducing delivery times and improving shipping predictability.
- Amazon is exploring the use of generative AI in robotics, particularly in influencing designers to make better systems, designing robots, and real-world problem-solving.
- Amazon has partnered with MIT/Ipsos to gauge what both workers and consumers think about industrial robots, with the goal of improving human-robot team performance and understanding human perception of robots.