Amazon Robotics
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Head office | Westborough, Massachusetts |
| Press material | No press images released "All content included in or made available through any Amazon Service, such as ... images ... is the property of Amazon or its content suppliers." |
| Website | aboutamazon.com/news/tag/robotics |
Amazon Robotics is the part of Amazon that designs, builds and runs warehouse robots. Amazon says the unit began when it bought Kiva Systems in 2012. Kiva was a robot maker based in North Reading, Massachusetts.
Amazon’s filing with United States regulators put the Kiva deal at about 775 million dollars in cash. Amazon calls a site in Westborough, near Boston, its robotics headquarters. Robots are built and tested there before they go into warehouses.
What they build
Most of the fleet is drive units. These are low, flat machines on wheels that slide under a shelf and carry it to a worker. Amazon names two: Hercules and Titan. It says Titan lifts twice as much as Hercules, so it takes bulky goods.
Proteus is described by Amazon as its first fully autonomous mobile robot. It drives around a site using sensors, instead of following barcodes stuck to the floor.
The company also builds robotic arms. Robin was the first arm Amazon put to work, and it sorts packages. Cardinal picks one package out of a pile and places it in a cart; Amazon says it handles packages up to 50 pounds. Sparrow picks single items out of containers.
Vulcan is an arm with a sense of touch, so it can feel contact and limit the force it uses. Amazon says it reaches the highest and lowest shelves and handles about three quarters of the items it stores. Sequoia is a storage system that Amazon says sorts and stores stock up to 75 percent faster.
Software counts too. DeepFleet is an artificial intelligence model that plans robot traffic. Amazon says it cuts fleet travel time by 10 percent. Project Eluna is an artificial intelligence helper for shift managers.
Not everything lasts. Amazon announced a multi-arm system called Blue Jay in 2025, then noted on the same page that it no longer uses Blue Jay in its operations.
What they are known for
Scale. Amazon says it has deployed more than one million robots since 2012, across more than 300 sites. It calls itself the world’s largest maker and operator of mobile robots, which is the company’s own claim.
It is also known for one building: a fulfillment centre in Shreveport, Louisiana, opened in 2024. Amazon says eight robotic systems work together there.
Amazon has tested machines it did not build. Trade press reported in 2023 that it trialled Digit, a two-legged robot from Agility Robotics. That came from outside coverage, not an Amazon product page.
How they sell
They do not sell. The robots are made for Amazon’s own warehouses and delivery sites. There is no price list, no order page and no public way for another company to buy a Proteus or a Sparrow.
So the useful question is not what one costs. It is which Amazon buildings have them, and Amazon does not publish a full site-by-site list.
Sources
- Amazon uses robots that sort, lift, and carry packages—see them in action
- Amazon launches a new AI foundation model to power its robotic fleet and deploys its 1 millionth robot
- Introducing Blue Jay and Project Eluna
- See inside Amazon’s robotics headquarters in suburban Boston
- Amazon.com to Acquire Kiva Systems, Inc. (press release filed with the SEC)
- Amazon Press Center – Images and Videos
- Amazon Conditions of Use
- Humanoid robots face a major test with Amazon’s Digit pilots (TechCrunch)
What changed
- Entry created.