Amazon ‘testing humanoid robots to deliver packages’ | Amazon – Tech firm is building ‘humanoid park’ in US to try out robots, which could ‘spring out’ of its vans
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/05/amazon-testing-humanoid-robots-to-deliver-packages
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From the article
The $2tn (£1.47tn) technology company is building a “humanoid park” in the US to test the robots, said the tech news site the Information, citing a person who had been involved in the project.
The [Information reported](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/amazon-prepares-test-humanoid-robots-delivering-packages?rc=fnnefa) that the robots could eventually take the jobs of delivery workers. It is developing the artificial intelligence software that would power the robots but will use hardware developed by other companies.
The indoor obstacle course being used for the tests at an Amazon office in San Francisco is about the size of a coffee shop, the report said, with the company hoping the robots will be able to travel in Amazon’s [Rivian vans](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/10/bezos-rivian-world-biggest-ipos-shares-electric-carmaker-ford-general-motors-stock-market-debut) and make deliveries from them.
“Spring out” of its vans like a plain-clothed ICE officer on an unsuspecting ~~international student~~ brown person
Lotta vandalism on the way I would think. Dicks are gonna be spray painted all over these robots.
So it will take 30mins to an hour to make it from the street to front door, due to all of the obstacles? Maybe it will only take 5 mins but damage the hell out of people’s property.
It’s hilarious how capitalism wants to maximize profits AT ALL COSTS. The second they saw any kind of help to reduce humans – no matter how faulty or yet to be perfected – they jumped at it.
Its just an obstacle course in one of its SF offices.
Enough with the sensationalist headlines. Stop it.
I honestly can’t fathom what our planet will look like in 50 years.
This isn’t that far off from the robot deliveries in CA cities today, albeit on a larger scale. Downtown L.A. finds little robots scurrying around the city delivering food at all hours. It is inevitable and will be one of the first steps towards personal robots to assist around the house.
There are a lot of applications for these types of robots, from picking produce, working in hazardous areas, performing repetitive work, etc. Those most affected, at first, will be those with jobs that require little skills but lots of endurance. Unfortunately, those people have little resources outside of these types of jobs and will be truly left behind. Something has to be done to help with the transition and not something like a coding camp they tried for coal miners.
This is the obvious progression, this is still early days, but eventually the warehouses will be automated, the delivery vans will be self driving, and the robots will drop off packages to the door.
There’s literally no reason for Amazon not to do this the second the technology is mature enough.
Personally I’d rather get cheap crap off the internet in record time because of automation rather than because Amazon makes their employees pee into empty water bottles.
What jobs are going to be left when robots and ai take all the entry level jobs?
At some point, they gotta realize that people won’t be able to afford anything if they aren’t working. So alllll the money these companies are saving won’t matter because people won’t be buying.
Why do we need to replicate the “human part” when automating tasks, I always thought of a “Amazon Locker on Wheels” type approach which can be summoned via requesting a time slot would be a better solution and reduces the complexity in having a humanoid robot.
The only way this really becomes efficient is if they were delivering 24/7.
Now I want you to imagine what kind of incidents will occur when robots begin to approach front doors and drop off a package of shaving cream at 3:20 am.