Amazon is introducing a new smart robot for its warehouses. Sparrow uses AI to identify items.
Amazon has unveiled its new warehouse robot. In his own words, “Sparrow is the first robotic system in our warehouses capable of detecting, selecting and managing individual products in our inventory.”According to an Amazon press release, this robotic arm uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to recognize and manipulate millions of objects.
Amazon introduces a new smart robot for its warehouses
The American giant explains that by using robots in its warehouses, it can manage its operations in a safer and more efficient way. “Sparrow takes care of repetitive tasks, allowing our employees to focus their time and energy on other things while enjoying enhanced security,” says Amazon. “At the same time, Sparrow will help us improve efficiency by automating much of our shipping process so we can continue to deliver goods to our customers.” And add that thanks to the robots, the company was able to create more than 700 new job types.
Amazon is not in a very good position when it comes to the working conditions of its employees in warehouses, and even more so when robots are involved. In 2020, the Center for Investigative Journalism magazine Reveal reported that between 2016 and 2019, the rate of serious injury suffered by Amazon employees in automated warehouses was 50% higher than in warehouses without robots.
Sparrow uses AI to identify items
According to the article, the use of robots has led Amazon to increase employee quotas, requiring some to scan up to 400 items per hour when they previously only had to do 100. “The data is consistent with reports from Amazon employees in warehouses and other security professionals. who have used robots to increase production quotas to the point where humans cannot keep up without putting themselves in danger,” the report says.
Last July, the US government launched an investigation into Amazon following allegations of unsafe working conditions. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted inspections that were “related to, among other things, Amazon’s workload for its warehouse workers.”
Amazon said sparrow as many workers unionize across the United States and are sometimes replaced by robots. In March, Staten Island’s JFK8 employees voted to form a union, becoming the first Amazon warehouse to do so. The company questioned the results of this vote. More recently, warehouse workers in Albania, New York, voted against it after Amazon launched an anti-union campaign.