Editors’ Picks




Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 15.67
…technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM. One initiative is Amazon.com Inc.'s Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship program, which offers paid training to prepare its employees for electromechanical technician roles. Despite fears that robots and artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs, U.S. unemployment has remained low over the past several years as automation has increased, and researchers have found that it could increase employment opportunities. While 85 million jobs could be replaced, new technologies could create 97 million jobs, according to The World Economic Forum. But first, people need education, which is the focus of National Robotics Week. Not only does the Mechatronics…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 15.08
Autonomous Drone Technology When Amazon announced earlier this year that they were evolving their Prime two-day shipping offer in the U.S. to a one-day program, the response was terrific. But they (Amazon) know customers are always looking for something better, more convenient, and there may be times when one-day delivery may not be the right choice. Can Amazon Deliver Packages to Customers Even Faster? They think the answer is yes, and one way they’re pursuing that goal is by pioneering autonomous drone technology. Today at Amazon’s MARS Conference (Machine Learning, Automation, Robotics, and Space) in Las Vegas, they unveiled their…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.38
Amazon Prime Air as an “Air Carrier” As reported by Bloomberg, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated Amazon Prime Air as an “air carrier,” the company said Monday. That allows Amazon to begin its first commercial deliveries in the U.S. under a trial program, using the high-tech devices it unveiled for that purpose last year. Amazon and its competitors must still clear some imposing regulatory and technical hurdles before small packages holding the likes of cat food or toothpaste can routinely be dropped at people’s homes. But the action shows that they’ve convinced the government they’re ready to operate in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.06
…leveraging this tacit information for improved route planning. The Amazon Last Mile Routing Research Challenge encourages participants to develop innovative approaches leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, and other non-conventional methods to produce solutions to the route sequencing problem which outperform traditional, optimization-driven operations research methods in terms of solution quality and computational cost. The challenge site is live and registration opens on 22 February. Visit routingchallenge.mit.edu Amazon is providing the training data for the models and will be evaluating submissions, with technical support from MIT CTL scientists. MIT CTL will publish and promote technical papers about…
Found in Robotics Companies & Businesses, with a score of 14.06
…systems integrator building robotic picking cells. In 2016, the company applied its expertise in deep learning to win the Amazon Picking Challenge. Fizyr rebranded in 2017 as it focused on software. Fizyr says it is trusted as a strategic partner by global leading integrators, thanks to its fully scalable and proven software-only product. The company provides full insight and control to install, manage, update, and support its technology. It empowers systems integrators to build cutting-edge solutions for end users in multiple high-demand industries, such as e-commerce, micro-fulfillment, and parcel handling.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.00
…“It’s awesome to say I’m a robotics tech for Amazon.” Extending Human Capabilities Amazon currently enlists the help of more than 100,000 robots, which operate using the AWS cloud, to fulfill customer orders. These robots complement human capability to “help make us smarter,” according to Tye Brady, Amazon robotics chief technologist. “Our three principles – lower prices, wider selection, and enhanced customer experience – will not scale up by manual labor only, they keep accelerating and growing only if we augment and supplement human intelligence with machine intelligence” Brady believes we can accomplish this with collaborative robots “who work in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.87
DXC Luxoft this week said it is collaborating with Amazon Web Services Inc. to support the autonomous driving with its Robotic Drive Cloud offering on AWS. The Robotic Drive tooling and services are available now and can reduce development and test times, as well as total cost of ownership to customers. The partners said they can offer a tangible competitive advantage to developers of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles. “Creating this relationship will help our mutual customers accelerate their ADAS/AD [autonomous driving] programs while increasing flexibility and optimizing cost,” stated Luz G. Mauch, executive vice president for…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.60
BOSTON—As the head of Amazon.com Inc.’s autonomous mobility technology and product development program, Mikell Taylor understands what it takes to make robotic systems that scale. She was a key figure in the Seattle-based company's development of the Proteus industrial autonomous mobile robot (AMR), which was unveiled earlier this year. It’s the first AMR to come from the team at Amazon Robotics, and it will be used in-house and not sold in the commercial market. The robotics team was formed after the e-commerce giant bought Kiva Systems in 2012. Taylor spoke earlier this month at the Association for Advancing Automation’s (A3)…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.13
Is Amazon In-Sourcing or Creating a New Service? You Already Know Amazon didn’t get to where it is today (hitting a market cap of $1 trillion in Sept. 2018) by resting on its laurels. At the time I wrote this, Amazon’s market cap is $777.8 billion. We can all rest assured that Amazon is looking to get back up to $1 trillion and stay there. Amazon understands the value and importance of innovation, and it’s size and service portfolio variety means that it looks at problems differently than other large companies. It’s that perspective that allows Amazon to enter new…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.95
…Robotics Inc. today announced that it is working with Amazon Web Services Inc. to begin testing the software powering its Flippy 2 and Flippy Lite systems using AWS RoboMaker. The companies said this will enable Miso to run up to 50 simulations at once, helping it to turn prototypes into functional products at a faster rate. “Integrating into AWS RoboMaker has been a gamechanger for us to scale our products and make sure the software and its updates are ready to deploy with units in the field,” said Chris Kruger, chief technology officer of Miso Robotics. “We went from running…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.74
With springtime comes new life. Last month, e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc., already a major user and developer of robots, announced its new $1 billion Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. Among the first five startups to receive investment was Vimaan Robotics Inc., which is developing systems for real-time visibility into inventory across the entire warehouse. “We were not actively soliciting an investment when approached, but when one of the largest and most innovative supply chain companies in the world recognizes the value in our solutions for the entire supply chain inventory management industry, it is easy to get excited,” stated S.K. (“KG”)…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 12.53
…reported by Rob Smith, National Retail Reporter, CoStar Group, Amazon, the online innovator that changed retailing, now has plans for a futuristic airborne fulfillment center where it would use drones to deliver goods. The e-commerce giant was granted a patent for the concept last month, and it has another pending for a vertical warehouse that looks more like a skyscraper than a distribution center. The cutting-edge ideas show how far developers may have to go to address the growing demand for industrial space as more Americans shop online. Already, the first multistory warehouses in the U.S. are scheduled to open…