Amazon Revolutionizes Delivery and Logistics with AI-Powered Innovations

Amazon's delivery and logistics will get an AI boost

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab wants customers to know that artificial intelligence is not just for writing college essays. In a series of announcements Wednesday, Amazon demonstrated how stockroom robots, delivery people and its sprawling warehouses will all benefit from a hefty dose of artificial intelligence, speeding packages to customer doorsteps. The company said it is forming a new group at its Lab126 device unit focused on creating warehouse robots that will perform multiple tasks when prompted, a significant advance over today's robots that typically are designed for a singular job. Using so-called agentic AI, these robots will be able to unload trailers and then retrieve parts for repairs, according to Amazon. "We're creating systems that can hear, understand and act on natural language commands, turning warehouse robots into flexible, multi-talented assistants," Amazon said in a statement, without providing details such as what the robots might look like or cost. Amazon described the advances ahead of a press event Wednesday at Lab126 in Sunnyvale, California, where it gathered robotics and logistics executives for demonstrations. Among the additional announcements are that Amazon is using generative AI to create more advanced maps for its delivery drivers, so that they can more efficiently deliver packages for the final few yards (metres) of their journeys. The specialized AI will provide Amazon fine detail on building shapes, as well as obstacles and anything else they may need to navigate a package drop-off. "This innovation is making it easier for Amazon drivers to find the right delivery spot, especially in tricky places like big office complexes," Amazon said. That technology could be critical to specialized eyeglasses Amazon is developing for delivery drivers that Reuters reported exclusively last year. The company hopes to outfit drivers with screen-embedded glasses that free their hands from GPS devices and give them turn by turn directions while driving, as well as while carrying packages at their destination. Finally, Amazon said it AI will help it more efficiently predict what products customers will need and where to improve its same day delivery operations. On a more basic level, it means that winter coats likely will not be stocked in Phoenix warehouses in summer though Amazon suggested that other factors the software will consider are price, convenience, relying on factors such as weather and sales events, like Prime Day. In its announcement, Amazon promised to minimize waste through less carbon emissions and traffic as the result of the new AI. Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Michael Perry Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Retail & Consumer Greg Bensinger Thomson Reuters Greg Bensinger joined Reuters as a technology correspondent in 2022 focusing on the world's largest technology companies. He was previously a member of The New York Times editorial board and a technology beat reporter for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He also worked for Bloomberg News writing about the auto and telecommunications industries. He studied English literature at The University of Virginia and graduate journalism at Columbia University. Greg lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

Amazon's delivery, logistics get an AI boost

Amazon is integrating artificial intelligence across its operations, from warehouse robots capable of complex tasks to AI-powered maps for delivery drivers, enhancing efficiency and speed. The company's new AI advancements aim to optimize delivery routes, predict customer needs, and reduce waste, potentially impacting same-day delivery and even future technologies like specialized eyeglasses for drivers.Amazon wants customers to know that artificial intelligence is not just for writing college essays. In a series of announcements Wednesday, Amazon demonstrated how stockroom robots, delivery people and its sprawling warehouses will all benefit from a hefty dose of artificial intelligence, speeding packages to customer doorsteps. The company said it is forming a new group at its Lab126 device unit focused on creating warehouse robots that will perform multiple tasks when prompted, a significant advance over today's robots that typically are designed for a singular job. Using so-called agentic AI, these robots will be able to unload trailers and then retrieve parts for repairs, according to Amazon. "For our customers, it's, of course, faster delivery," said the unit's leader, Yesh Dattatreya, a robotics scientist, at an event at Amazon's Silicon Valley Lab126 hardware device lab. He said the robots could be critical during times of heavy demand, like around the holidays, for things like lifting heavy objects in confined spaces. The new AI would also help the company minimise waste and cut carbon emissions, Amazon said. Agentic AI has become one of the hot investment areas with technologists promising software that can make decisions and act upon them without any additional input from users. Such software is meant to help automate everyday tasks like scheduling. "We're creating systems that can hear, understand and act on natural language commands, turning warehouse robots into flexible, multi-talented assistants," Amazon said in a statement prior to the lab event. Dattatreya said decisions like what the robots would look like, how many would be deployed or when had yet to be determined. Navigating obstacles at delivery points Amazon is also using generative AI to create more advanced maps for its delivery drivers, so that they can more efficiently deliver packages. The specialised AI will provide Amazon fine detail on building shapes, as well as obstacles and anything else they may need to navigate for a package drop-off. "This innovation is making it easier for Amazon drivers to find the right delivery spot, especially in tricky places like big office complexes," Amazon said. That technology could be critical to specialised eyeglasses Amazon is developing for delivery drivers that Reuters reported exclusively last year. The company hopes to outfit drivers with screen-embedded glasses that free their hands from GPS devices and give them turn-by-turn directions while driving, as well as while carrying packages at their destination. Viraj Chatterjee, a vice president in Amazon's Geospatial unit, said in an interview the technology could potentially be used in the eyeglasses, but that the hardware was far from being perfected. It marked Amazon's first public acknowledgement of the eyeglass project. He said delivery drivers in the U.S. were already using the maps daily. The software has been particularly useful for large apartment complexes and housing developments, he said. Chatterjee said Amazon's delivery people, who are largely contractors, are not required to use the software. Some gig companies have faced legal challenges over whether they are asserting too much control over their contracted workers through mapping and other software. Amazon also said AI will help it more efficiently predict what products customers will need and where to improve its same day delivery operations, with the software considering factors such as price, convenience, weather and sales events, like Prime Day. "It allows us to sell a different set of books in Boston than we would in Boise, and cater to different tastes really, really efficiently across the communities that we serve," said Nathan Smith, director of demand forecasting for Amazon's supply chain optimisation technologies unit.

Amazon Aims to Use AI to Help Robots Understand Natural Language Commands | PYMNTS.com

For last-mile delivery, Amazon announced an initiative called Wellspring that aims to "dramatically improve precision of deliveries and the driver experience through the use of generative AI." The company also unveiled the latest AI foundation model powering its Supply Chain Optimization Technology (SCOT), according to the post. "This model processes over 400 million items across 270 different time spans, fundamentally changing how the company forecasts and positions inventory in ways that benefit price, selection and convenience for customers," the post said. CNBC reported Wednesday that the agentic AI team working on the AI foundation model framework for robots is a new group within Amazon's Lab126 hardware research-and-development unit, which created the Kindle, Echo and other devices. Reuters reported Wednesday that Amazon is using generative AI to create more advanced maps that help its drivers make deliveries in challenging locations like large office complexes, apartment complexes and housing developments. The firm also plans to use AI to predict customer demand for products based on price, convenience, weather and sales, thereby helping Amazon more efficiently cater to its customers, according to the Reuters report. These reports follow some other recent announcements of AI-powered solutions from Amazon.

Amazon's delivery and logistics will get an AI boost

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Amazon wants customers to know that artificial intelligence is not just for writing college essays. In a series of announcements Wednesday, Amazon demonstrated how stockroom robots, delivery people and its sprawling warehouses will all benefit from a hefty dose of artificial intelligence, speeding packages to customer doorsteps. The company said it is forming a new group at its Lab126 device unit focused on creating warehouse robots that will perform multiple tasks when prompted, a significant advance over today's robots that typically are designed for a singular job. Using so-called agentic AI, these robots will be able to unload trailers and then retrieve parts for repairs, according to Amazon. "We're creating systems that can hear, understand and act on natural language commands, turning warehouse robots into flexible, multi-talented assistants," Amazon said in a statement, without providing details such as what the robots might look like or cost. Amazon described the advances ahead of a press event Wednesday at Lab126 in Sunnyvale, California, where it gathered robotics and logistics executives for demonstrations. Among the additional announcements are that Amazon is using generative AI to create more advanced maps for its delivery drivers, so that they can more efficiently deliver packages for the final few yards (metres) of their journeys. The specialized AI will provide Amazon fine detail on building shapes, as well as obstacles and anything else they may need to navigate a package drop-off. "This innovation is making it easier for Amazon drivers to find the right delivery spot, especially in tricky places like big office complexes," Amazon said. That technology could be critical to specialized eyeglasses Amazon is developing for delivery drivers that Reuters reported exclusively last year. The company hopes to outfit drivers with screen-embedded glasses that free their hands from GPS devices and give them turn by turn directions while driving, as well as while carrying packages at their destination. Finally, Amazon said it AI will help it more efficiently predict what products customers will need and where to improve its same day delivery operations. On a more basic level, it means that winter coats likely will not be stocked in Phoenix warehouses in summer though Amazon suggested that other factors the software will consider are price, convenience, relying on factors such as weather and sales events, like Prime Day. In its announcement, Amazon promised to minimize waste through less carbon emissions and traffic as the result of the new AI. (Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Michael Perry)