VOA慢速英语2019 报道称亚马逊打包机器人的速度快于人工操作

Report: Amazon Boxing Machines Work Much Faster than Humans

There have been many reports in recent years that warn of future job losses as machines replace humans in many industries.

Many companies, however, have denied they plan to use robots to replace workers. They say that, instead, machines will work along with humans to improve work processes. Some businesses have also said that many workers replaced by technology can be retrained to keep their jobs.

U.S.-based online seller Amazon is one company that has already added robot assistance to some of its warehouse¹ operations. Now, a new report from Reuters news agency describes one Amazon process that could replace many humans.

Amazon has added new machines in warehouses² that can fully³ load boxes in preparation for shipping⁴, Reuters reported. The news agency says it got the information from two people who worked on the automation project for Amazon.

Goods marked with identifying information enter the machine on a moving belt. The machine has a computer system that recognizes each product and designs and creates a box to exactly fit its size and shape. The machine then places the products inside the box and marks the container for shipping.

An Italian technology company named CMC built the system called CartonWrap. Officials there did not comment for the story. But Reuters said people who worked on the Amazon project said the machines can process about 600 to 700 boxes an hour. This is about four to five times faster than humans could do the job.

The machines require one person to load products, another to refill the box material and a third to be available to fix possible issues with the machine, Reuters reported. Unlike people, the machines can operate continuously without breaks.

The people involved in the project said Amazon has so far only used the machines at a small number of its 55 U.S. warehouses. Each warehouse employs about 2,000 people.

Amazon reportedly has considered putting the systems in many of its U.S. warehouses. If that happens, up to 24 jobs could be removed from each warehouse, Reuters reported. This could amount to more than 1,300 total cuts in jobs.

The news agency reported it is unclear when the machines might be added to additional warehouses. Such major deployments of new technology at companies generally take a long time because they require many tests and approvals.

A spokeswoman for Amazon provided a statement to Reuters. “We are piloting this new technology with the goal of increasing safety, speeding up delivery times and adding efficiency across our network,” the spokeswoman said. “We expect the efficiency savings⁵ will be re-invested in new services for customers, where new jobs will continue to be created.”

Dave Clark, Amazon’s top vice⁶ president of worldwide operations, tweeted about the Reuters report. He noted⁷ that the system being tested is good because it “makes packages smaller with less overall cardboard waste.” And on the issue of technology replacing humans, he wrote: “For all this fear of lost jobs - the #1 issue for most of us is finding enough people to fill the jobs we have and the new ones we are creating.”

Amazon has been growing its worker base for years and is one of the largest U.S. employers. After facing criticism for low wages and long working hours, the company announced an increase in starting pay for all U.S. employees to $15 an hour. Amazon has already moved to automate⁸ part of its warehouse operations. For example, Amazon uses robot machines to price goods and transport products to workers in warehouses.

Last month, a Reuters reporter visited a fulfillment center in Baltimore, Maryland. Amazon officials there told the reporter that widespread automation is unlikely to happen quickly. A major reason for this is that Amazon and other businesses have failed to find the right kind of robotic hand. It has been difficult for companies to develop a robotic hand that can handle many different kinds of products with the same care and effectiveness as humans.

近年来，许多报告警告称未来会出现大规模失业，因为许多行业用机器取代了人工。

然而，多家企业否认他们有用机器人代替人工的计划。他们表示，机器不会取代人工，而是会和人类合作以改善工作流程。一些企业还表示，被技术取代的多数工人可以在接受再培训后继续工作。

美国在线销售商亚马逊就是其中一家用机器人协助仓库运营的公司。路透社报道称，亚马逊其中一个流程的改善可能取代大量人类员工。

据路透社报道，亚马逊为仓库安装了新机器，可以实现整个装箱打包流程，为运输做准备。路透社表示，其消息来源于两名亚马逊自动化项目的工作人员。

标有识别信息的商品进入传送带上的机器中。该机器配备有计算机系统，可以识别每件商品的信息，然后设计并制造一个完全符合商品尺寸和形状的包装盒。随后，机器会将商品放入包装盒中，并为运输进行标记。

这个名为CartonWrap的系统由意大利科技公司CMC生产。该公司官员并未就报道发表评论。但路透社表示，该亚马逊项目的工作人员说，这些机器每小时可处理约600到700个包装盒。这一速度大约是人工操作的4到5倍。

据路透社报道，这种机器需要一名工作人员来装入商品，另一个人来填充包装盒材料，还需要一个人修理机器可能出现的故障。与人工操作不同的是，机器可以连续工作，不需要休息。

该项目参与者表示，亚马逊在美国有55个仓库，目前这些机器只应用于少数仓库中。每个仓库的雇员大约有2000人。

据报道，亚马逊考虑在大部分美国仓库中安装这个系统。据路透社报道，若真如此，那每个仓库可能会取消24个工作岗位。也就是说，亚马逊所有仓库可能削减1300多个岗位。

路透社报道称，目前并不清楚这些机器何时安装到其他仓库中。企业大规模地部署新技术通常需要花费很长时间，因为这项举措必须经过多项测试和许可。

亚马逊公司的一名女发言人向路透社提供了一份声明。该发言人称，“我们正在试行这项新技术，目的是加强安全、加快交付时间，同时提高公司网络的效率。我们希望将所节约的效率重新投资于为客户提供的新服务，而这些新服务将继续创造新的工作岗位。”

亚马逊全球副总裁戴夫·克拉克在推特上回应了路透社的报道。他指出，测试证明新机器表现良好，因为其“使包装更小，产生的废旧纸板也更少”。至于技术取代人工这一问题，他写道：“就失业的恐惧来说，我们大部分人首先要做的是，找到足够的人来填满现有岗位和我们将创造的新岗位。”

数年来，亚马逊一直在扩招员工，这家公司也是员工数量最多的美国企业之一。在因工资低和工作时间长而被指责后，亚马逊宣布将所有美国员工的工资提高至每小时15美元。亚马逊已经让部分仓库作业实现了自动化。举例来说，亚马逊在仓库中用机器人为商品标价，然后将商品运送至工作人员手里。

上个月，一名路透社记者探访了亚马逊位于马里兰州巴尔的摩市的一家订单履行中心。在该中心工作的亚马逊官员告诉记者，广泛应用的自动化不太可能在短期内实现。主要原因是，亚马逊及其他企业还未找到合适的机器人手臂。对企业来说，开发出可以像人类一样谨慎且有效地处理不同商品的机器人手臂是相当困难的事情。

Words in This Story

warehouse – n.large building for storing goods to be sold

automation – n.the controlling of something using machines and not people

belt – n.part of a machine that moves objects

delivery – n.the taking of things from one place to another

efficiency – n.a good use of time and energy, without wasting time and money

1 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

2 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 automate   

v.自动化；使自动化

参考例句：

• Many banks have begun to automate.许多银行已开始采用自动化技术。
• To automate the control process of the lathes has become very easy today.使机床的控制过程自动化现已变得很容易了。