Amazon expands warehouse robots and adds more AI-powered robot arms

In short: Amazon is scaling up its warehouse robots, especially robotic arms guided by AI, while debates continue about how this affects human workers.

What's going on

Amazon says it already has more than 1 million robots working in its warehouses. At the same time, it employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide, making it the second-largest corporate employer, according to its 2025 annual report.

Amazon built much of its robot program after buying Kiva Systems in 2012. Many of its robots are wheeled machines that bring shelves to workers, like shopping carts that move by themselves. Amazon is also building new robot manufacturing sites in Austin, Texas, and Greenwood, Indiana, to produce more robots.

A big focus now is robotic arms that pick up, sort, and pack items. Amazon says it expects to more than double its robotic arms this year, and an executive told Ars Technica the current number is in the single-digit thousands. Some arms use AI, which is software that learns from lots of examples, to choose the best way to grab a package, especially when items are piled up.

Amazon is also testing more advanced arms like Vulcan, which uses sensors to feel what it is touching, similar to how your hands can tell if something is stuck. Amazon said Vulcan started operating in Spokane, Washington, and Hamburg, Germany, and it expects wider rollout in 2027.

What to watch

Amazon says robots reduce physically hard and risky tasks, and it points to improved overall injury rates since 2019. But labor groups and researchers say robots can also increase the pace of work, which may lead to more repetitive strain injuries. Watch for newer injury and safety data as more AI-driven robots move from tests into everyday warehouse work.

Source: Arstechnica