Humanoid robots which can pick up packages with robotic arms are working alongside human workers in an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., the retail giant has announced.

The humanoid robot called Digit is under test in a warehouse in Texas, and has arms and legs and can grasp and handle packages like a human worker.

Amazon now has 750,000 robots working in facilities around the world, but the move to humanoid robots is new – sparking fears for the future of human workers at the company.

The company has denied that it intends to move to ‘robot only’ warehouses.

The bipedal robot is currently being used to shift empty tote boxes in the warehouse: it is five foot nine inches tall, weighing 140lb – and can pick up and carry objects weighing up to 35lb.

The move sparked fears about the future of Amazon’s 1.5 million human workers.

The Digit robot stands five foot nine inches tall (Amazon)

The Digit robot stands five foot nine inches tall (Amazon)

The Digit robot stands five foot nine inches tall (Amazon)

Amazon Robotics Chief Technologist Tye Brady said that the testing of ‘Digit’, the bipedal robot from Agility, was in its ‘very, very early stages’.

Amazon Robotics Chief Technologist Tye Brady said, ‘We’re taking a lot of care to understand it better and see if there’s a fit for our processes.’

Digit from Agility Robotics can take on many human tasks ‘that are too repetitive, physically demanding or dangerous for the humans it works with,’ the company says.

It’s one of a wave of humanoid robots from firms ranging from start-ups to big tech players including Elon Musk’s Tesla, which is creating a humanoid robot called Optimus.

Musk has said that he believes the robots could one day be more important than the company’s cars.

Goldman Sachs predicted that the market for humanoid robots could be worth $150 billion a year worldwide within 15 years – and that humanoid robots will be viable in factories between 2025-2028 and in other jobs by 2030-2035.

The Sequoia robot system can speed up deliveries by 25% the company says (Amazon)

The Sequoia robot system can speed up deliveries by 25% the company says (Amazon)

The Sequoia robot system can speed up deliveries by 25% the company says (Amazon)

Elon Musk's Optimus robot can also take on any human task (Tesla)

Elon Musk's Optimus robot can also take on any human task (Tesla)

Elon Musk’s Optimus robot can also take on any human task (Tesla)

Amazon is investing heavily in robotics, having announced a $1 billion ‘Industrial Innovation’ fund last year.

Other companies such as Sanctuary AI believe that robots will be capable of doing any human chore within 10 years – its Phoenix robot has already been demonstrated packing items in shops.

Amazon has claimed that the bipedal robots will not ‘take human jobs’ arguing that the technology can help by ‘freeing employees up to better deliver for our customers’.

Amazon claims that its robotics systems have created ‘hundred of thousands of new jobs’ within its operations.

Amazon said, ‘This includes 700 categories of new job types, in skilled roles, which didn’t exist within the company beforehand,’ the firm said.

According to the tech giant, it now has more than 750,000 robots working ‘collaboratively’ with its human staff, often being used to take on ‘highly repetitive tasks’

Amazon has 750,000 robots working for it (Amazon)

Amazon has 750,000 robots working for it (Amazon)

Amazon has 750,000 robots working for it (Amazon) 

Amazon wrote in a blog post, ‘We believe that there is a big opportunity to scale a mobile manipulator solution, such as Digit, which can work collaboratively with employees.

‘Our initial use for this technology will be to help employees with tote recycling, a highly repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes once inventory has been completely picked out of them.’

At a separate media event Amazon Robotics chief technologist Tye Brady told reporters that he believed human workers were irreplaceable.

He said that there was no possibility that Amazon could have fully automated warehouses in future.

Brady said, ‘There’s not any part of me that thinks that would ever be a reality.’

‘People are so central to the fulfillment process; the ability to think at a higher level, the ability to diagnose problems.’

At the event, Brady announced the use of a new robotic system called Sequoia at one of its Houston warehouses – which can speed up fulfilment of orders by 25%.

Brady said, ‘Collaborative robotics involves people. How can we have people be the stars, the spotlight, the centre of the show, when it comes to the jobs that we have to do?’

‘When we do our job really, really well, our robotic systems just kind of blend into the background to become ubiquitous. You don’t talk about your dishwasher too much in your kitchen.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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