Amazon shuts down Blue Jay warehouse robot project after less than a year

Source: Mashable Tech

Background

Last October, Amazon announced Blue Jay, a new robotic arm system intended to act as “an extra set of hands” for its warehouse workers. The system was designed as a multi‑arm helper for same‑day delivery facilities and was being tested in South Carolina at the time of its announcement.

Project termination

This week Amazon confirmed that Blue Jay is being wound down after less than a year. The news was first reported by Business Insider and later corroborated by TechCrunch. After six months of testing, Amazon is moving the core technology and the team behind Blue Jay to other projects.

Look at it go! – Credit: Amazon

Spokesperson statement

An Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch that Blue Jay was always intended as a prototype.

“We’re always experimenting with new ways to improve the customer experience and make work safer, more efficient, and more engaging for our employees,” the spokesperson said. “In this case, we’re actually accelerating the use of the underlying technology developed for Blue Jay, and nearly all of the technologies are being carried over and will continue to support employees across our network.”

Related initiatives

Blue Jay was not the only warehouse robotics initiative Amazon has pursued, and it is unlikely to be the last. This particular project, however, did not work out as planned.