Amazon's Innovation Lab (left), and Proteus (right), Amazon's next generation autonomous robot used to lift and transport heavy loads.
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — With Amazon Prime Day underway, the company's robotic technology is playing a big role at helping ensure customers' orders are processed and delivered accurately.
The annual sales event runs June 23-26, offering Prime members discounts on products including home goods, electronics, clothing, appliances, and various essentials.
To help make the event run smoothly, there's a massive amount of work happening.
Amazon employees are busy keeping company warehouses stocked, and items organized, moved, and shipped.
Providing the company with a big helping hand is robotic technology.
But, before robots are deployed for real in Amazon warehouses, Sandy Gordon said each robot undergoes comprehensive testing and practice at the Amazon Innovation Laboratory in Westborough. "This is where we design, test, and manufacture the robots that we actually deploy into our sites that then our people are able to use to make the magic come to life," she said.
Gordon is Amazon's Global Operations Vice President of Employee Experience and Relations.
She added that Amazon's global fleet of robots is made in North Reading.
Meanwhile, an Amazon engineer showed off Proteus, Amazon's next generation autonomous robot that resembles an over-sized Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner.
Proteus is designed to safely lift and transport heavy carts and containers weighing up to 400 kilograms (882 pounds).
Using AI, employees can interact with Proteus just as they would a human colleague, telling the robot what needs to be moved without needing to use technical software or programming interfaces.
According to Amazon, the company has deployed more than one million robots across its global fulfillment centers.
WBZ NewsRadio's Emma Friedman (@EmmaFriedmanWBZ) reports.