Amazon.com Inc., which churns through hourly workers, has long expected to one day run out of people to hire for its US fulfillment centers—an existential problem for an enterprise that made its name providing quick, reliable delivery. The e-commerce giant’s warehouses are partly automated, but Amazon still relies on hundreds of thousands of humans working in concert with the machines.
One solution to the labor shortage, of course, is more robots. But for years, engineers have struggled to duplicate a human’s manual dexterity. Now Amazon may have solved the problem with Sparrow, a yellow robotic arm that the company says can pick up millions of types of products without crushing or dropping them.
Amazon hasn’t said precisely how Sparrow and its machine cousins will revolutionize its operations. But patent filings, corporate blog posts and executive comments reveal a road map of the company’s ambitions. Robots will stow and retrieve individual items, move packaged boxes into carts for shipment and pilot those carts to waiting trucks—labor now handled mostly by people. The technology is still buggy, and full deployment will probably take years. But the automated system promises to fundamentally reshape Amazon, which has grown into the second-largest private US employer, after Walmart Inc., and in many towns is the default option for workers who have few marketable skills or were laid off from other jobs.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers