- Blue Jay lasted less than six months despite rapid development speed
- Prototype status was not clearly communicated during Blue Jay’s initial press announcements
- Blue Jay employees are reassigned to programs leveraging core robotic innovations
Amazon has been steadily developing warehouse robotics since acquiring Kiva Systems in 2012, creating the foundation for automated fulfillment centers.
By July 2025, the company had deployed more than 1 million robots in its warehouses, showing a strong commitment to robotics while also highlighting the operational complexity involved.
Despite this scale, not every internal robotics initiative succeeds, and the company’s latest experiment, Blue Jay, illustrates the challenges of rapid innovation.
The rise and fall of Blue Jay
Unveiled in October 2025, Blue Jay was designed as a multi-armed robot capable of sorting and moving packages in same-day delivery facilities.
Testing began at a facility in South Carolina, with Amazon noting that the development cycle was unusually fast — approximately one year — compared with other warehouse robots, a speed attributed to advances in AI.
Despite its rapid development, the project lasted less than six months before being halted, showing that speed alone does not guarantee operational success.
Amazon confirmed that Blue Jay was introduced as a prototype, which it did not clearly state in earlier press announcements.
Employees who worked on the project are being reassigned to other robotics programs that use the core Blue Jay technology.
Terrence Clark, an Amazon spokesperson, said the company intends to accelerate the use of underlying Blue Jay innovations in future warehouse robotics, maintaining continuity while shifting focus to more sustainable applications.
While Blue Jay is no longer active, Amazon continues to develop other warehouse robots, including Vulcan.
Vulcan features two robotic arms — one dedicated to rearranging and moving items within storage compartments, while the other uses a camera and suction cups to pick and place individual goods with precision.
Its sensors allow it to detect the weight, shape, and orientation of packages, enabling it to handle items without causing damage.
The robot’s software continuously adapts to variations in package size and density, allowing it to optimize picking sequences and reduce delays in order fulfillment.
Vulcan operates within Amazon’s same-day delivery and high-density fulfillment centers, where space constraints require precise navigation and coordination with existing conveyor systems.
The robot’s dual-arm configuration allows it to handle multiple items at the same time, increasing throughput in storage compartments without requiring human intervention for repetitive lifting tasks.
Its vision and tactile sensors feed continuous data to onboard processing units, enabling real-time adjustments to grip force and movement paths.
Integration with warehouse management software allows Vulcan to receive task priorities.
It dynamically plans routes and communicates with other robotic units to prevent collisions or bottlenecks, supporting a more efficient automated workflow.
Via TechCrunch
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