It’s been up and running since last summer, but has only just opened
to the public: Amazon’s gigantic fulfilment centre near
Seattle. A fulfilment centre characterised above all by robots. It’s not
only the well-known orange Kiva robots are zipping around the floor; giant
robots that lift and transport pallets are also making their way around the facility.
The most striking thing is undoubtedly the collaboration between robots and humans. It is
often claimed that robots will take over the work of warehouse staff, but
Amazon announced just this week that it needs 2,500 extra staff for
six US fulfilment centres. In this fulfilment centre, too, there still seems to be
plenty of room for ‘real’ workers.
Interaction with the robots
“The robots only take over the walking
and heavy lifting from staff,” says Mike Roth, vice-president of Amazon’s North
division of Amazon. “It actually makes our staff’s work easier. The robot brings the items to them, whilst another
another computer tells them which items to pick. The robot then drives
off.” So doesn’t that make the work more monotonous for the warehouse staff? According to Roth,
, no. “In fact, they enjoy interacting with the robots. It’s the perfect
partnership.”
See photos of the fulfilment centre below.
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Images: Bizjournals.com
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