How robots are building Amazon’s future

Thanks to an army of robots, Amazon became a retail giants. Now, these robots are creating the future not only of Amazon, but also of retail and logistics

Ordering on Amazon is simple: just click ‘Buy Now,’ and the next day your items are delivered. Behind the scenes, Amazon finds the item you ordered from the warehouse closest to you and sets in motion a complex logistical system that is invisible to the customer, involving not only thousands of people but also a growing number of robots.

In this article, we will explore how a question in one man’s mind led to the creation of an army of robots that transformed retail and logistics, and how that army of robots of various shapes and sizes is now shaping the future of Amazon.

From Kiva Systems to Amazon Robotics

The story of Amazon Robotics begins outside Amazon.

It was early 2002, and Mick Mountz’s mind was occupied with one question: Is there a way to make warehouse operations faster? From 1999 to 2001, Mountz was working at Webvan, an online grocery shop, one of many online businesses created during the dot-com bubble and one of its many victims when the bubble burst in the early 2000s. As the…