Safety Technology

Amazon Robotics Creates Safety Device

Jan. 25, 2019

A new safety vest from Amazon allows robots to detect warehouse workers from farther away and change its route to avoid them.

EHS Today Staff

With the increase of robots performing tasks in the warehouse, there is a risk of injury.

Just this past December an Amazon robot tore open a can of bear repellent at the company's New Jersey warehouse sending 24 workers to the hospital. Thirty other workers were treated on the scene.

One solution to this problem is a wearable safety-type vest that can alert a robot that a person is around.

Last year Amazon began rolling out such a belt, as reported by Brian Heater in TechCrunch.

Designed by Amazon Robotics, the vest is comprised of a pair of suspenders, with built-in sensors that are attached to an electronic utility belt.

“In the past, associates would mark out the grid of cells where they would be working in order to enable the robotic traffic planner to smartly route around that region. Amazon Robotics vice president Brad Porter told TechCrunch.

"What the vest allows the robots to do is detect the human from farther away and smartly update its travel plan to steer clear without the need

for the associate to explicitly mark out those zones.”

Read the full article here.

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor: Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.