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Robots

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Drive Unit

Details

The Drive Unit is a mobile robot used by Amazon for automating its warehouses. It carries heavy shelves of inventory on its back, and it never gets tired, complains about the boss, or asks for a raise.

Creator
Amazon Robotics

(originally developed by Kiva Systems, acquired by Amazon in 2012)

Country
United States 🇺🇸
Year
2005
Type
Industrial
Creator
Amazon Robotics

(originally developed by Kiva Systems, acquired by Amazon in 2012)

Country
United States 🇺🇸
Year
2005
Type
Industrial

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Did You Know?

In early 2012, online retailer Amazon acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million in cash.
The company was initially named Distrobot Systems until its founders came to their senses and renamed it Kiva Systems.
A Kiva warehouse can "self-organize" as robots store popular products near the order fulfillment stations and place less popular items at the back of the warehouse.
Before Amazon acquired Kiva, its customers included Staples, Walgreens, Gap, Toys "R" Us, Office Depot, and Zappos.
$4 million to $6 million: Cost estimated by Kiva in 2008 to fully automate a 10,000-square-meter warehouse with its robots.

Specs

FEATURES
Capable of operating autonomously in groups of hundreds. Decentralized software architecture. Able to lift about 450 kg, or 1,000 lb.
HEIGHT
N/A cm | N/A in
LENGTH
N/A cm | N/A in
WIDTH
N/A cm | N/A in
WEIGHT
146.5 kg | 323 lb
SPEED
4.68 km/h | 2.9 mph

SENSORS
Downward-facing camera (to read barcodes on the floor), upward-facing camera (to read barcodes under product racks), infrared sensors, and collision-detection bumpers.
ACTUATORS
N/A
POWER
N/A
COMPUTING
On-board computer on each robot, a main server for managing the robots and inventory, and PCs at the order-fulfillment stations.
SOFTWARE
Agent-based software running on the robots, the main warehouse server, and the PCs.
DEGREES OF FREEDOM (DOF)
N/A
MATERIALS
N/A
COST
N/A
STATUS
Ongoing
WEBSITE
https://www.amazonrobotics.com/

History

Kiva Systems was founded by Mick Mountz, an MIT-trained engineer and entrepreneur, along with Raffaello D'Andrea, a roboticist, and Peter Wurman, a computer scientist. Kiva built six prototype robots in 2004. They were used to demonstrate the concept of a robotic warehouse while the company worked on the first commercial version of the DU 1000, which was released in 2005. The next generation of the DU 1000 followed quickly in 2006 with major changes to the charging subsystem and lifting mechanism. In 2007, Kiva introduced the larger capacity DU 3000 bot, which can lift 1,360 kg (3,000 lb) and was designed for transporting oversize items. Since that time the form factors of the robots have remained mostly the same while the firmware has continually evolved. Amazon acquired Kiva for $775 million in 2012 and formed Amazon Robotics.