Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.08
November 22, 2022
…original team that worked at Zoox, a self-driving company Amazon bought in 2020 for $1.2 billion. Kohen said he brought a lot of what he learned at Zoox with him to SparkAI, including using humans to handle the shortcomings of artificial intelligence. “Our unique take that was very contrarian at the time was that the last 5% is not something you can fill with more tech,” he said. “There's a cognitive gap that's going to take a few decades to build, so in the meantime, the only cognition that exists in the world is in our heads.” “Our job through…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.53
November 15, 2022
…Pete Blair, vice president of marketing and sales. Donikian has experience launching and growing teams and products for Wayfair, Amazon Robotics, Amazon Pay, and Alexa. Blair brings go-to-market strategy and execution from his previous roles leading marketing at Berkshire Grey, Applause App Quality, and Kiva Systems/Amazon Robotics.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.56
November 11, 2022
…at its robotics manufacturing facility yesterday in Westborough, Mass., Amazon.com Inc. announced Sparrow, its new robotic arm designed to complete product-handling tasks. “Sparrow is the first robotic system in our warehouses that can detect, select, and handle individual products in our inventory,” the company said in a blog post. “Sparrow represents a major advancement in the state-of-the-art technology of industrial robotics. Leveraging computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI), Sparrow can recognize and handle millions of items.” An Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch the robot can recognize about 65% of the company’s product inventory and takes advantage of sensors to identify the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.07
November 10, 2022
…fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) enterprises such as Unilever, Flipkart, Amazon, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Dabur. The company recently opened a Center of Excellence for Advanced Robotics Research and Development in Fremont, Calif. From left to right: Johnny Andersen, general manager of Addverb Europe; Pieter Feenstra, CEO of Addverb EMEA; Håvard Hallås, chief commercial officer of Element Logic; and Hans-Jörg Braumüller, group design and consulting director of Element Logic. Source: Element Logic AMRs maneuver to new markets Unlike automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), AMRs don't require predefined, fixed paths, instead defining their routes on the fly. If an obstacle is detected, the AMR…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.61
November 05, 2022
…adapt to sudden changes. My e-commerce journey began at Amazon in the U.S., where I used my skills in mathematics to optimize supply chains. It was while working at Amazon that I realized shipping is the biggest cost for many online retailers. I also realized that most of the continuous improvements were coming from the hardware side. What was lacking was the sophisticated software to make different hardware work together more efficiently. Advanced software allows automation flexibility of a type that has never been possible until now. One option it enables is the integration of mobile robots from different vendors,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.23
November 04, 2022
…development and testing of the standard version of the Retriever announced earlier this year. Labrador Systems’ investors include SOSV/HAX, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, iRobot Ventures, Grep VC and SkyRiver Ventures. Labrador was awarded a National Science Foundation Phase I SBIR Grant in 2021 and a Joseph F. Engelberger Foundation Robotics Grant for Elder Care in 2022.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.54
November 02, 2022
…last-mile perspective instead of coming out of like an Amazon mega fulfillment center,” Cherewka added. He acknowledged that e-commerce volumes are down a bit compared with last year and 2020, but volumes remain high overall. “I think one of the 3PL [third-party logistics] sites we're at, their peak volumes goes up 6x around this time of the year, so it is still as crazy as ever, maybe not just as crazy as last year,” said Cherewka. Autonomous forklifts grow in popularity Like OTTO Motors, Vecna’s counterbalanced forklift has been very popular. It has become the company’s most popular lift truck,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.99
October 27, 2022
…automated “dark stores,” can provide orders for nearby customers. Amazon Go stores use cameras and intelligent software to track purchases and charge customers as they leave the premises, replacing cashier kiosks. Boston Dynamics' Spot quadruped can perform dangerous surveying tasks at construction sites. As Sanders said, robots can perform the tasks that people don't want to do, supporting fulfillment in spite of workforce shifts. Logistics picks up on robotics Warehouse operators and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are making healthy investments in automation for materials handling. For instance, shipping giant Maersk last year acquired Visible Supply Chain Management (SCM) for $838…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.66
October 25, 2022
…development of advanced robotic applications. Its partners include Google, Amazon, and Samsung. The company also supports and collaborates with the worldwide open-source robotics movement and is the lead developer of the MoveIt motion-planning framework. PickNik to develop capture controls for SpaceWERX Under its SpaceWERX contract, PickNik Robotics will help develop enhanced control for on-orbit capture of space assets and increase the overall efficiency and safety of U.S. Space Force operations. The work will focus on capturing and manipulating objects in orbit using robotic arms for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM). PickNik will use its MoveIt Space software, which is…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.11
October 25, 2022
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 5.91
October 19, 2022
…no single player in the robot arm ecosystem, despite Amazon, Ocado, Kindred, and FedEx,” he added. “Consolidation will happen, but Plus One is fortunate. We started with the application rather than the technology. The only metric that matters for us is the number of picks around the world.” “We've had a lot of success with mixed depalletizing, which people don't want to do,” said Nieves. “Companies want to reach boxes at the bottom, not the top at induction.” “We say, 'Robots work, people rule,' because people are more flexible. They can begin decanting and then do packout and then do…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.79
October 17, 2022
…proponents. Next-day delivery, made omnipresent by leaders such as Amazon, grew to include same-day delivery in many markets. Consumers also showed an eagerness to capitalize on the convenience e-commerce offers in new sectors. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s latest survey estimates that e-commerce accounted for 14.5% of all retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 and that online purchases were $870.8 billion for the year, a 14.2% increase over 2020. The takeaway is clear: The pandemic prompted people to shop online, and many will continue to do so even after they return to brick-and-mortar stores. This is important for…
