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Amazon is developing artificial intelligence software for humanoid package delivery robots, and reportedly has plans to soon test the robots at its San Francisco offices.
According to a June 5 report from The Information, Amazon is nearing the completion of an indoor “humanoid park” roughly the size of a coffee shop, where the new robots will be put through an obstacle course as part of the initial trial phase. After that, the company plans to take the robots on “field trips” in the real world, where they’ll be tested on actual package deliveries to homes. In theory, a human would drive the robots around in an electric Rivian delivery van, and it would then “spring out” of the vehicle at each stop to place packages on doorsteps.
Amazon has developed automated robots for a variety of tasks at its fulfillment centers in recent years, and has been trialing delivery drones in Texas and Arizona since 2024. In early May, the company introduced a new robot capable of sensing the size and shape of items by touch, that can pick and stow products in warehouses from hard-to-reach rows of storage bins. Automated robots are also used to transport heavy pods of items across warehouse floors, sort items into totes, and create precisely-sized packages to fit an order’s exact dimensions.
In October 2023, Amazon introduced a humanoid robot from Agility Robotics called Digit, and began testing it out in warehouses in early 2024. The company says that Digit can move, grasp and handle items, and help human employees with repetitive tasks like picking up and moving empty totes. Amazon is still testing the technology in its fulfillment centers, while Agility hopes to eventually produce 10,000 robots each year for use in warehouses.
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