60 Minutes shows Amazon’s virus-killing robot; says company uses AI to enforce social distancing
The rolling, UV-emitting robot is something Amazon is “working on for the future,” according to the 60 Minutes report. (Amazon via 60 Minutes) Amazon is developing a robot that would roll through grocery stores and distribution centers, using banks of ultraviolet light to kill viruses on surfaces.
The company provided “60 Minutes” with video of a prototype of the robot for a report Sunday night about Amazon’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, and the backlash from workers who want the company to close down distribution centers for cleaning and disinfection when employees test positive.
Careful, creative, or creepy? Amazon says it uses its vast camera system for contact tracing and to try to enforce social distancing. It’s testing a UV-emitting robot that may one day in the future disinfect surfaces in warehouses or Whole Foods. https://t.co/dgN5YCucVM pic.twitter.com/kXvclrsIXO
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2020
It’s part of a technological show-of-force from the company, seeking to demonstrate its efforts to battle COVID-19 in the face of criticism from employees and others.
In addition, 60 Minutes reports that Amazon is “trying to enforce social distancing by videotaping all its employees and using artificial intelligence to study their movements.” The report notes that cameras are “also being used for contact tracing in order to identify workers who came in contact with a sick colleague and send them into quarantine.”
The segment describes Amazon’s UV-emitting robot as “something they’re working on for the future,” without providing a timeline or other details.
We’ve contacted Amazon for more details, and for comment on the 60 Minutes report.
It was the first glimpse of a concept that the company has hinted at previously . Brad Porter, vice president of robotics at Amazon, last week referenced the company’s work on “mobile ultraviolet sanitation” in a LinkedIn post that he wrote in response to the resignation of fellow VP Tim Bray over the company’s firing of employees who spoke out about the spread of COVID-19.
Was Amazon too slow to install workers’ protections? Some of its workforce think so, but Amazon vehemently disagrees. https://t.co/qiNYDzMpE5 pic.twitter.com/vb4ppUzSlO
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2020
The company has declined to disclose the total number of Amazon workers who have tested positive. Jana Jumpp, an Amazon worker in Indiana who has been tracking confirmed cases, told 60 Minutes that at least 600 workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Other reports have put the number higher.
The segment included video of Amazon workers in a packed break room, not wearing masks or protective equipment.
Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of operations, declined to confirm the number for 60 Minutes, telling correspondent Lesley Stahl that the case total “isn’t...
