Robots Expanding Into More Warehouse Work

When Amazon bought warehouse robot maker Kiva Systems they pulled Kiva's robots off the market to give Amazon a competitive advantage. Kiva's robots are integrated with Amazon's IT systems. Now VC-funded start-ups are pursuing the gap left by Kiva's departure. These new robot designs work for a fraction of the human minimum wage in the United States. While growth in online ordering has caused an almost quarter growth in human employment in warehouses in the last 5 years Amazon has doubled its use of factory robots in less than a year. Robot labor is growing faster than human labor. Robots will eventually gain the ability to put goods in boxes for shipment. When they can do boxing human employment in...
Source: FuturePundit - Category: Research Authors: Source Type: blogs