ROBOTS ARE HERE TO STAY- AMAZON PATENT FOR PACKAGING

Amazon already utilizes tens of thousands of robots to transport cargo throughout its warehouses, and the e-commerce giant apparently believes that robots could one day help pack that cargo for shipping as well.

The Seattle e-retailer was recently awarded a patent for a robotic packing machine, NBC News reports.

This schematic from Amazon’s patent shows a human worker collaborating with the company’s proposed packaging robot. (Image credit: Amazon)

According to the patent filing, Amazon employees would load items onto the machine’s trays and a robotic arm would use suction to grasp individual items and move them to the appropriate box for shipment.

The system could make Amazon even more efficient as it aims to keep up with the growing demands of e-commerce, but it could also curb the number of human workers needed to staff its warehouses.

Amazon, meanwhile, also reportedly received recent patents for two considerably more far-out proposals: an underground delivery tunnel network and a massive floating warehouse.

http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2017/02/amazon-patent-filing-shows-packing-robot