Robots, humans to staff online giant's new fulfillment center

Amazon’s newest distribution center will use robotics to streamline operations.



The online giant plans to open its second Colorado fulfillment center in Thornton. This will be the first Amazon Robotics facility in the Centennial State.



The 855,000-sq.-ft.-plus center will employ more than 1,500 associates, who will oversee the picking, packing, and shipping smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and toys. The processes will be augmented by robotics technology created within Amazon Robotics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.com. Among the solutions designed by the division include autonomous mobile robots, sophisticated control software, language perception, power management, computer vision, depth sensing, machine learning, object recognition, and semantic understanding of commands.



“We are excited to continue growing in Colorado with the new Amazon Robotics fulfillment center in Thornton,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s VP of North American operations. “This facility will utilize Amazon Robotics, vision systems, and more than 20 years’ worth of software and mechanical innovations.”



Amazon announced on Friday, June 9, that it will also use robotics in its facility in North Haven, Connecticut. Specifically, the technology will assist employees in fulfilling customer orders, according to the company.