Amazon is conducting trials with humanoid robots called Digit in its US warehouses as part of its increasing automation efforts, BBC reports.
Digit is a robot by Agility Robotics with arms and legs that can move, grasp, and handle items similarly to a human. Amazon said it currently has over 750,000 robots that collaborate with human staff in performing repetitive tasks.
Amazon claims its robotic systems have created hundreds of thousands of new jobs. However, the move has been criticized by some unions as an attempt to replace human workers with automation.
Amazon Robotics’ chief technologist Tye Brady emphasized that people are irreplaceable and that fully automated warehouses are unlikely in the future.
