Amazon showcases robotic technology

DUPONT — Robots do a lot of the heavy lifting at the new Amazon.com fulfillment center, helping 500 human employees fill orders for the Internet retailer.

The center is one of 50 around the country and three in the Puget Sound area. The others are at Bellevue and Sumner. A fourth is under construction in Kent.

The $100 million DuPont Fulfillment Center has been operating since June, but Amazon held a grand opening Friday for political and economic development officials. The center is a showcase for Amazon’s robotic technology.

Robotic equipment improves safety because it operates without direct human control, minimizing the chance of injuries, said Greg Zielinski, the DuPont center’s general manager.

Computer-driven equipment follows wires embedded in the floor to select merchandise on a two-story warehouse floor equal in area to 59 football fields.

The order travels on a conveyer belt to where it is boxed and labeled for shipment through a computerized system that routes the boxes to one of two dozen package-delivery trucks.

An algorithm decides which delivery company will handle the shipment to ensure the order arrives on time at the least cost.