An Update On Our Efforts To Accelerate The Large-Scale Application Of AI In Robotics
To improve the state-of-the-art in intelligent and safe robotics, Amazon is recruiting Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan and licensing Covariant’s robotic foundation models.
Amazon has been a leader in supply chain, logistics, and warehouse automation for many years. It developed and deployed the largest fleet of industrial robotics in the world and pioneered the use of machine learning models. The hundreds of thousands of mobile robots, robotic arms, and other automation systems in our operations are powered by AI technology and AWS infrastructure, helping our staff fulfill billions of client orders annually. AI is used by Amazon systems such as Sequoia, Proteus, and Robin to comprehend the physical environment and perform tasks in a safe and dependable manner while assisting our operations personnel.
Many of the orders we send today are handled by our robotic fleet, which moves inventory, sorts products, and recognizes customer orders. In order to make our operations safer and more effective for our staff, they take on the heavy lifting and repetitive jobs. We have been intensely focused on learning from and consistently enhancing the movement of our inventory at our sites and the ways in which our robotics systems interact with them throughout the years and through all of this activity. In order to apply these findings to create AI models that make our systems even safer and more flexible at scale, we’ve been hard at work conducting basic research. This research is assisting in the creation of innovative applications for robots that will benefit our staff and enhance customer service.
We have a new business arrangement with Covariant to help expedite this innovation and the benefits it will bring to Amazon customers and beyond. Based in the Bay Area, Covariant develops cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) models that empower robots to observe, think, and respond to their environment, enabling a variety of warehouse automation applications. We are impressed by the Covariant team’s iterative, customer-focused approach to creating technologies that address the most difficult warehouse automation problems, as well as their in-depth knowledge of the entire process. Amazon is granted a non-exclusive license to utilize Covariant’s robotic foundation models as a result of our agreement.The models developed by Covariant will contribute to the development of novel approaches for generalizing the learning processes of our robotic systems and offer flexible options for using automation to improve customer service and operational safety. To capitalize on elite talent and push the boundaries of automation, Amazon intends to expand its AI and robotics team in the Bay Area.
A quarter of Covariant’s current workforce, including Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, Rocky Duan, and a group of research scientists and engineers, will join Amazon’s Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics Team to drive the development and integration of Covariant’s technology within Amazon’s operations and to continue developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions. In addition to serving its numerous clients, Covariant will advance its technology, which facilitates fulfillment and distribution center automation.
Joseph Quinlivan, Vice President, Amazon Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics, stated, “We’re thrilled to welcome some of Covariant’s talented team to Amazon and look forward to building on this technology with them to deliver the next generation of robotics that will drive forward the state-of-the-art in automation.” “We will push foundational research with some of the brightest minds around, combining our wealth of experience to discover new applications for AI and robots to support our operations staff. The incorporation of Covariant’s artificial intelligence technology into our current robot fleet will enhance their performance and generate tangible benefits for our clients.
We’re excited to share more and invite other robotics and AI academics and technologists to join us for all the future innovation.
