Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 17.17
April 24, 2017
…are also doubling down on creating autonomous vehicles. Now Amazon could be eyeing driverless car technology as a way to get items to people's doors faster, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. “Amazon.com Inc. has created a team focused on driverless-vehicle technology to help navigate the retail giant’s role in the shake-up of transportation, according to people briefed on the matter.” The initiative, still in its early phases, could help the Seattle-based company overcome one of its biggest logistical complications and costs: delivering packages quickly. Amazon could use autonomous vehicles including trucks, forklifts and drones to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 17.17
October 18, 2023
Amazon.com Inc. uses many robots in addition to those it acquired with Kiva Systems a decade ago. The Seattle-based e-commerce company noted that it has more than 750,000 robots working with its employees to relieve them of repetitive tasks. Amazon today announced that it is launching a new robot to help fulfill customer orders for the upcoming holiday shopping season. It is also testing Agility Robotics' mobile manipulation system. The new system, Sequoia, is already operating at an Amazon fulfillment center in Houston. Based on a series of research and development efforts at Amazon, Sequoia integrates multiple robots to containerize…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.83
May 09, 2021
Last week, local news outlets reported new Amazon.com Inc. distribution and fulfillment centers in Shreveport, La., and Savannah, Ga. The Seattle-based company has continued to open such facilities across the U.S. as e-commerce demand rises, and it said that each one will employ about 1,000 people. In addition, Amazon's centers will include robots from its Amazon Robotics unit in North Reading, Mass. Last year, Amazon had more than 185 fulfillment centers across the U.S., according to CNBC. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that construction of the $200 million, 650,000-sq.-ft. Shreveport center, the first one in his state, will begin…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.74
December 18, 2016
Business Insider’s scoop on Amazon creating an Uber for Trucking app isn’t a surprise. LogTech venture capital investments have been growing rapidly these past years, as recently reported by CB Insights. What’s more, Alibaba founder Jack Ma announced earlier this year that the Chinese giant would invest nearly $16 billion dollars in logistics over the 5 to 8 years, while a Chinese logistics provider in which it invested $256 million dollars is contemplating an IPO. To top it off, Uber’s own Uber for Trucking app was soft launched just weeks ago. The takeaway is clear - companies that have focused…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.43
April 23, 2024
…commercial deployments Founded in 2022 by former VP of Amazon Robotics and distinguished engineer Brad Porter, Cobot said its team includes robotics and AI experts from Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, NASA, and Waymo. Cobot said the new capital will be used to further expand its team and advance its commercial deployments. Paul Kwan, managing director at General Catalyst, has joined Alfred Lin from Sequoia Capital on Cobot’s board of directors. “We believe the Cobot team is world-class at building the necessary hardware, software, and institutional trust to achieve their vision,” said Kwan. “Their focus on user partnership and thoughtful…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.35
January 29, 2024
Consumer cleaning robot manufacturer iRobot and e-commerce retailer Amazon recently announced they mutually agreed to forgo Amazon’s planned acquisition of iRobot. In a release, the companies announced they signed a termination agreement that resolves all outstanding transactional matters, including Amazon paying iRobot a previously agreed upon $94 million termination fee. The original $1.7 billion acquisition proposal was announced in August 2022. “Amazon and iRobot were excited to see what our teams could build together, and we're deeply grateful to everyone who worked tirelessly to try and make this collaboration a reality,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon SVP and general counsel. “This…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.10
June 22, 2021
According to several news sources, Amazon.com Inc. is in talks to buy a stake in artificial intelligence truck-driving startup Plus and has placed an order for 1,000 autonomous driving systems. The deal would give Amazon the right to buy preferred shares of Plus via a warrant at a price of $0.46647 per share, an anonymous source told Bloomberg. That would amount to a 20% stake based on the company's shares outstanding before its planned merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed Bloomberg’s report. Plus said…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 16.01
April 12, 2023
…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 15.41
June 05, 2019
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 15.23
November 28, 2023
…Championship, the world's largest robotics competition. This collaboration with Amazon, Indigitize, an organization that makes computer science more accessible to Indigenous communities, and Google, demonstrates a shared commitment to foster STEM-related learning and workforce development among Native American and Indigenous students. The 4th annual Southwest Native American Showcase will have more than 250 students competing for several days. These students represent diverse tribes from Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Amazon's generous support is instrumental in enabling these teams and their coaches to attend this event at no cost. Without this partnership, many of these tribes might miss the chance to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.70
August 31, 2020
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 14.37
February 22, 2021
…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…
