Recently, Amazon announced that the number of robots in its warehouses has reached an astonishing 1 million, marking a milestone in the company's continuous improvement of automation capabilities over the past 13 years. The 1 millionth robot was recently sent to an Amazon logistics center in Japan.
This number is not only shocking but also means that Amazon's robot workforce is about to match the number of human employees. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, approximately 75% of Amazon's global delivery services are supported by robots to some extent, highlighting the importance of automation in the company's operations.
Image source note: The image is AI-generated, and the image licensing service provider is Midjourney.
In addition to the growth in the number of robots, Amazon also announced the launch of a new generative AI model called DeepFleet, aimed at improving the coordination efficiency among warehouse robots. According to Amazon, this new model will increase the working speed of the robot fleet by about 10%. The creation of the DeepFleet model is based on Amazon's own cloud computing platform, SageMaker, which provides strong support for building and deploying AI models.
Notably, Amazon's robot technology is not static. In recent years, Amazon has continuously improved its robot technology and introduced new types of robots with enhanced features. For example, in May of this year, the company released the latest Vulcan robot. This robot is equipped with two arms, one for organizing inventory and the other with a camera and suction cup for picking up items. More advanced still, the Vulcan also has a "tactile" ability, allowing it to sense the condition of the items it picks up.
Furthermore, in October 2024, Amazon announced a series of "next-generation logistics centers," which will be equipped with ten times as many robots as existing facilities and will continue to work alongside human employees. The first new logistics center of this type, located in Louisiana, has already been put into operation, further demonstrating Amazon's vision for automation in the logistics field.
Since acquiring Kiva Systems in 2012, Amazon has been developing its robotic technology. Today, the achievement of one million robots is not just a number, but a symbol of technological advancement and improved operational efficiency.