The Man Behind Amazon's Robot Army Wants Everyone to Have an AI-Powered Helper

Brad Porter helped Amazon deploy an army of warehouse robots. His new creation—Proxie—could help other companies embrace more automation.

Brad Porter knows a few things about putting robots to work. Between 2017 and 2020, he led a push at Amazon to develop a new range of smarter, more adaptive, artificial-intelligence-powered warehouse robots.

These machines, which include robotic arms capable of seeing and grasping items from conveyors, and mobile robots that work in close proximity to humans, have allowed Amazon to redesign its fulfillment centers to be more automated. They’ve also accelerated processing and delivery times, and—of course—improved profit margins.

Porter now leads Cobot, a company that aims to help other companies increase their robotic workforces, too. Cobot’s first product is Proxie, a two-armed, four-wheeled warehouse robot that looks a bit like a mobile hatstand. The robot, which has a touchscreen face and a sensors ...