Amazon Robotics opened a new manufacturing facility this week in Massachusetts to assemble more of its mobile drive units that are already widely used in the company’s fulfillment centers worldwide alongside human workers.
About 200 employees work at the 350,000-square-foot facility in Westborough, Mass., west of Boston producing the drive units—a kind of robot that is about a foot high and able to pick up heavy mobile shelves of products and deliver them to employees.
The robots rely on AI tech to map out their routes throughout facilities using 2D fiducial barcodes. The robot can then deliver the correct pod of goods to be stowed or picked.
Amazon did not share the specs on the robots, but videos show they are about 3-feet square with wheels that allow smooth turns. Prior reports show earlier versions of the robots made by Kiva Systems could lift 1,000 pounds, many times their own weight of more than 300 pounds and with the ability to travel at up to nearly 3 mph. The first versions began appearing as early as 2005.
Video courtesy Amazon of the new facility with mobile drive units lining up:
In 2012, Amazon bought Kiva Systems, founded by MIT-trained engineer Mick Mountz, for $775 million. Since that time, Amazon has deployed more than 350,000 drive units across its fulfillment centers. Over that time, Amazon said it has also added more than 1 million jobs worldwide.
Amazon issued a statement describing the Westborough manufacturing facility with a heavy focus on its commitment to hiring full-time hourly workers at double the federal minimum wage.
Earlier, Amazon announced it will be hiring 150,000 seasonal workers, with 1,500 in Massachusetts. In addition to hourly workers, Amazon’s presence in Massachusetts includes engineers and developers working on robotics. The Westborough facility will feature corporate offices, R&D labs and the manufacturing space to complement work at Amazon Robotics’ existing site in North Reading, Mass., opened about a decade ago. Together, the two facilities will serve as the center of Amazon’s robotics innovation, the company said.
Amazon said it has created more than 20,000 jobs in Massachusetts since 2010 and invested more than $10 billion. The company did not seek any incentives from local, state and federal government ties to the robotics expansion in Westborough, officials said.
Amazon Robotics currently lists 327 full time job openings on its web site, many in Massachusetts, but also in Texas, Washington and other locations for robotics assembly, mechanical engineer, software developer and more.