Excited to announce that Standard Bots has secured $63 million in funding, with our most recent Series B led by General Catalyst with participation from Amazon's Industrial Innovation Fund and Samsung Next. Congrats to the team!
Your next colleague might be 5'9 tall, with white eyes, a bit clunky but willing to learn. His name is Digit, and he is a humanoid robot.
The guy... is currently doing an "internship" at Amazon.
Bezos' company got it in test mode from Agility Robotic Inc, a startup dedicated to building machines that can work alongside human workers.
Digit does only one thing: grabbing empty yellow bins and returning them to circulation. Over and over again.
The robot has a humanoid aspect: it has paddles at the end of its arms and needs to use both limbs together to pick up boxes.
Initially, he was headless, but engineers added a blocky head with white eyes so human co-workers could understand where it was moving.
Digit's role is now limited to the final step of Amazon's assembly line-like warehouses. However, one day, it might get promoted to other jobs like unloading trucks, taking apart pallets of merchandise, and similar tasks.
And maybe he will improve his teamwork skills, since the company might add hundreds and thousands of robots to the facilities.
Agility Robotics Inc. aims to build 10,000 robots a year and deploy them to warehouses worldwide. Amazon took a stake in the funding round of $180 million Agility has raised in 2022. The e-commerce giant could buy Agility one day, as it did Kiva Systems Inc.. Kiva self-driving robots were used in Zappos and Diaper, companies Amazon bought in 2009 and 2010. In 2015, the e-commerce giant also bought the robot suppliers in a USD 775 million deal so that the company could stop selling its machines to competitors.
Digit's previous "internship" was at Ford in 2019, in a pilot project where the robot had to onboard a self-driving vehicle and deliver parcels. However, he "lost the job" when it became clear that fully autonomous vehicles are not yet a thing. The robot helper became redundant if a person had to be on hand to drive the van.
Amazon hopes to replace humans in the most repetitive tasks or to remove them from the most dangerous chokepoints. The company has been under regulators' radar for the number of injuries happening in its warehouses.
Human workers had a mixed reaction to this"new talent" wearing the same safety equipment and looking the same.
Could "the kid" ever replace them?
Probably not in the foreseeable future.
Digit cannot compete with human workers yet. He is slower to turn and "gets tired" quickly. Digit has a limited battery and can operate for only a couple of hours at a time.
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🤖 Amazon's new billion-dollar investment in robotics, featuring Digit at their Seattle facility, is generating buzz. While Amazon insists robots will support, not replace, human workers, concerns linger about job security. However, this move reflects Amazon's customer obsession, innovation, and operational excellence principles. By integrating robots, Amazon aims to boost efficiency, innovate in logistics, and optimize operations. #Amazon#Robotics#Innovation#FutureOfWork 🚀✨
🌟Amazon's recent adoption of robots like Agility Robotics to replace warehouse workers raises crucial questions about the future of work and society. As one of the largest employers in the US, Amazon's shift towards automation signifies a significant transformation in how businesses operate.
📈 While automation can enhance efficiency and productivity, it also prompts us to reflect on the implications for the workforce and society at large.
🤖 The rise of robots in the workplace challenges us to reconsider the role of humans in an increasingly automated world. This development underscores the importance of upskilling, reskilling, and adapting to technological advancements. It also sparks conversations about the need for policies that support workers in transitioning to new roles and industries.
💡Let's engage in constructive dialogue sooner than later about how we can navigate this evolving landscape together.
❓ Can humans and robots complement each other harmoniously in the future?Would love your thoughts.
https://lnkd.in/gYcNuuWw#FutureOfWork#Automation#TechTrends#Society#Amazon#AgilityRobotics
Exciting news from the tech world! 🤖 Amazon is set to revolutionize their operations by bringing in Digit, an advanced bipedal robot, for a test run!
Imagine a robot that doesn't just roll around on wheels but walks just like us! That's what Digit is all about. Created by Agility Robotics, this isn't your average bot. It's designed to navigate the twists and turns of a warehouse effortlessly. 🏭
Guess where Digit is heading first? Straight to Amazon’s robotics hub near Seattle. This is where the magic will start, as they explore how Digit can team up with Amazon's workforce to make their jobs safer and more efficient. 🛠️
What's even cooler is that Digit is more than just an experiment – it's a step toward the future. Agility is part of Amazon’s own Industrial Innovation Fund, which means we're talking about a partnership that's serious about change. 💡
Now, here’s where it gets real: Digit will be stepping in to tackle tote recycling – a task that’s all about lifting and shifting empty bins. Simple for a robot like Digit, but it's a game-changer for the hardworking humans it'll be working alongside. 👷♀️👷♂️
The vision? A world where robots like Digit work hand-in-hand with people, making workplaces like Amazon’s even better places to be. And who knows? This could be just the beginning! 🌟
Let's chat about this, folks! What are your thoughts on robots like Digit joining the workforce? Could they be the new colleagues of the future? Drop your thoughts below! ⬇️
#AmazonRobotics#AgilityRobotics#FutureOfWork#RobotRevolution
"At today’s Delivering the Future event, Amazon announced that it will begin testing Agility’s bipedal robot Digit in its facilities. Amazon Robotics Chief Technologist Tye Brady said the testing is in its 'very, very early stages,' adding, 'We’re taking a lot of care to understand it better and see if there’s a fit for our processes.'
Reading between the lines here, there’s no guarantee that Amazon will actually begin deploying Digit to its warehouse facilities, which currently utilize north of 750,000 robot systems.
The exploration isn’t a big surprise. Last April, the retail giant announced a $1 billion 'Industrial Innovation' fund. Agility was one of an initial round of five firms receiving a cut of that investment. The list also includes Mantis Robotics, Modjoul and Vimaan."
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A New Era in Human-Robot Collaboration?
Amazon opens a new chapter in the history of warehouse robotization, symbolizing an era of unprecedented cooperation.
Digit, developed by Agility Robotics, performs tasks alongside Amazon employees. Its ability to manipulate and move objects with agility heralds a major evolution in the world of logistics.
This partnership between humans and robots at Amazon represents a significant step towards intelligent, adaptive automation. Digit is not just a work tool; it is a step towards optimizing tasks and improving working conditions.
This integration nevertheless raises the question of the balance between technological progress and human impact.
🤔 Digit, an advance or a threat for workers 👨🔧🤖?
👉 Share your point of view 💬
#Technology#Collaboration#Innovation#FuturDuTravail#Techismagic#Robotics
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Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and others are investing in Figure AI Inc., a startup developing human-like robots. With a pre-money valuation of about $2 billion, the funding round aims to raise $675 million. Figure AI's mission is to create robots capable of performing dangerous tasks, alleviating labor shortages. Bezos' firm is committing $100 million, Microsoft $95 million, and Nvidia and Amazon $50 million each. Intel, LG, Samsung, and others are also investing. OpenAI, initially considering acquisition, is now investing $5 million. This investment highlights the growing importance of AI-driven robotics.
#ai#robotics#investment#FigureAI#jeffbezos#nvidia#microsoft
Amazon's FC's are equipped with Sequoia, which are actually fleet of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR's) are here to fulfill customer orders faster by 25% (by next day delivery or by same day delivery).
Also focusing on reducing carbon footprint, energy reduction, Amazon partnered with Rivian's electric vans are here to speed up delivery in upcoming holiday seasons.
Robotics, Automation and Innovation at it's best!!
#robotics#innovation#automation#amazon
Sequoia, our new robotics system, is ready to help us fulfill customer orders up to 25% faster, just in time for the holidays, while also making work safer for our employees.
At the same time, we’re speeding deliveries through our more than 10,000 delivery vans from Rivian across the U.S., helping us reduce our environmental impact.
Since launching these and other new technologies, we’ve hired for hundreds of thousands of new jobs and created 700 new categories of skilled roles within Amazon.
Follow along as Tye Brady, chief technologist, robotics, joins The TODAY Show to walk us through how customers’ orders travel from fulfillment center to front door. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e_95QfcZ#Robotics#Innovation
Head of Development, Radisson Blu
2wThat's so exciting!!! I'm waiting for the robot that's going to do my laundry for me:)