Amazon has unveiled its latest warehouse robot. It states: “Sparrow is the first robotic system in our warehouses that can recognize, select and handle individual products in our inventory.” The robotic arm uses AI and computer vision to recognize and handle millions of items. according to Amazon.
The company says it can operate more efficiently and safely by using robots in its warehouses. “Sparrow will handle repetitive tasks, allowing our employees to focus their time and energy on other things while improving safety,” Amazon said. “At the same time, Sparrow will help us gain efficiencies by automating a critical part of our fulfillment process so we can continue to deliver for customers.” It added that through the use of robots, it has been able to do more to create more than 700 new job categories.
Amazon doesn’t exactly have an impeccable record when it comes to conditions for warehouse workers, especially when robots are involved. In 2020, the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Discover published a report showing that between 2016 and 2019, the rate of serious injuries suffered by Amazon workers in automated warehouses was 50 percent higher than in non-robot facilities.
Last July, it emerged that the US government was investigating Amazon over alleged unsafe working conditions. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted inspections that “related, among other things, to the work pace required by Amazon for its warehouse employees”.
Amazon revealed Sparrow amid an initiative by warehouse workers to unionize their workplaces, with robots taking over tasks in some cases. In March, workers at the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to unionize, becoming the first Amazon warehouse to do so. The company has contested the election result. Recently, workers at a warehouse in Albany, New York, voted against unionization after Amazon launched an anti-union campaign.
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