Amazon has been utilizing Kiva robots for years in the company’s warehouses, small, efficient, roomba-like bots that scurry around and fulfill orders.
Now, the retail giant is looking for a robot capable of stocking shelves, essentially replacing the humans who do the job at the current.
In order to find the new robot, Amazon is holding a competition for shelf-picking bots, with $25,000 going to the winner.
The competition will take place at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Seattle in May and requires all participating robots to be able to locate products on a shelf, pluck them out of containers, and pack them correctly into cardboard shipping boxes.
I’ll be back with updates after the competition takes place in a few months!
