In October, Amazon proudly announced A new warehouse robot made up of multiple robotic arms, called Blue Jay, that along with AI systems will “reduce repetitive tasks, improve safety and increase productivity – while speeding up deliveries.”
“Visually, Blue Jay works like a juggler who never drops the ball – only here, the ‘balls’ are thousands of objects that move at high speed,” the company said at the time. “It’s like a conductor leading an orchestra, with harmony in every movement.”
Now this whole matter has turned into a shameful debacle. As insiders told business insiderThe tech giant quietly pulled its Blue Jay robot just months after its announcement, undermining its claims of taking advantage of recent advances in AI technology.
Spokesman Terrence Clarke said BI The core technology of the multi-arm robot will be reused elsewhere. It’s unclear why Amazon chose to mothball the robot.
“We are always experimenting with new ways to improve the customer experience and make work safer, more efficient and more engaging for our employees,” Clark said. “In this case, we are really accelerating the use of the underlying technology developed for Blue Jay, and almost all of the technologies are being leveraged and we will continue to support employees across our network,” the spokesperson said. told techcrunch In a separate statement.
Clark also said that the Blue Jay was a prototype, although nothing was mentioned about it in Amazon’s October press release.
The failed experiment highlights how difficult it is to take recent advances in AI into the real world. Reality is far messier and more unpredictable than the digital environment, requiring algorithms to be constantly adjusted.
Amazon’s response also underscores the company’s commitment to eventually automating its warehouses with robots. In form of new York Times informed Amazon is secretly considering eventually replacing more than 600,000 jobs with robots, a day before the company showed off its Blue Jay robot.
Over the past few years there has been much discussion about human-free “dark factories” – completely automated facilities that require no lighting, heating or air conditioning, i.e. has begun to flourish in China.
Companies are also betting big on humanoid robots, which could eventually take over many of the tasks currently accomplished by humans.
But as the latest developments show, a lot of work still needs to be done on the technology needed to carry out human jobs. Meanwhile, the pressure on companies to deliver on their lofty promises continues to grow, especially when it comes to AI.
Amazon has committed to 200 billion dollars spent to build AI infrastructure this year alone, a huge sum that left investors nervous earlier this month.
However, whether its failed robot will matter much in the long run is unlikely. Just a little while ago today the news came out that Amazon had left Walmart behind Establishing itself as the world’s largest company by sales is a momentous occasion highlighting the e-commerce giant’s continued dominance. However, shares remained flat following the news, suggesting that concerns remain among investors.
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