Collaborative robotics will drive greater societal impact with people at centre: Amazon Robotics head

Amazon sees a future centred around 'collaborative robotics', where machines are geared to amplify human capability and potential, rather than replace them, according to Tye Brady, chief technologist at the ecommerce giant's robotics unit.

Amazon, which recently deployed its 1 millionth robot in its global operations and introduced 'DeepFleet', an AI technology to optimally coordinate the movement of robots across its fulfilment network (intelligent warehouses), asserts that robotics will play a key role in building more capable societies.

The company has grown from deploying a single robot type that moved inventory shelves across warehouse floors in 2012, to operating a diverse fleet of robots aimed at boosting operational efficiency.

Amazon's lineup of robots includes 'Hercules', which can lift and move up to 1,250 pounds of inventory; 'Pegasus' robots that use precision conveyor belts to handle individual packages, and 'Proteus'.

'Proteus', in fact, is a fully autonomous mobile robot, that navigates around employees in open and unrestricted areas of Amazon sites while moving heavy carts filled with customer orders.

"I really believe that over the long term, we will have physical AI (Artificial Intelligence) systems that we are pioneering, which will really change society for the better," Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, told reporters.

The future of robotics will ride on collaboration, that is, building machines that extend human capability and amplify human potential, Brady said, adding that Amazon sees robotics amplifying human impact, not replacing humans.

"We are pioneering a new body of work that we call 'collaborative robotics', and I really see that in the future. How can we build our machines to extend human capability, human potential? How can we build machines that are tools for people to use, for them to gain more efficiencies, whether you're at work or home? I think the work that we're doing today in our fulfilment centres is a forerunner to a greater societal impact that robotics will have with the mindset of putting people at the centre of the robotics universe," he said.

Speaking to reporters recently on the sidelines of Amazon's 'Delivering the Future' event in Tokyo, which showcased the company's latest innovations and technologies, Brady emphasised that the future isn't about people competing with machines, but rather about people and machines working together.

"It's not people versus machines but it is people and machines working together. And the onus is on us, the roboticists, to build those machines in a way that people naturally want to use, in a way that creates a safer environment, and to build them in a way that's efficient and more productive for our customers," he said.

Amazon last week announced it has deployed its 1 millionth robot, building on its position as the world's largest manufacturer and operator of mobile robotics. The robot was recently delivered to a fulfilment centre in Japan, joining a global network that now spans over 300 facilities globally.

It also introduced a new generative AI foundation model to make the fleet of robots smarter and more efficient. Christened DeepFleet, the AI technology will coordinate the movement of robots across the fulfilment network, improving the travel time of the robotic fleet by 10% and enabling the company to deliver packages to customers faster and at lower costs, Amazon said.

The company likened DeepFleet to a smart traffic control system. Much like intelligent traffic systems streamline car routes in a busy city and reduce delays for drivers, DeepFleet optimises robot movement, minimising congestion, raising efficiency, and boosting the processing of customer orders, as per the company.

On public apprehensions about robots and AI eventually displacing the global workforce, Brady said, while change can feel uncomfortable to some, AI is the most transformative technology in his career.

"I've been in robotics for a while. It has taken us a long time to get to this stage where we're actually doing utility and function with our machines that enable people to do things more efficiently, more safely. So, I would say the future is very bright," Brady said, advocating that human potential can, indeed, be optimised through machines.