SEATTLE — Amazon patented a human machine transport system that pairs up humans and machines. <br />According to the Seattle Times, illustrations that go with the patent, which was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office in 2016, show a cage-like enclosure around a work space positioned on top of a robotic trolley. <br />The company says it does not intend to use the technology, but said it was designed to allow humans to enter robot-only zones in Amazon's automated warehouses to make repairs or retrieve dropped objects. <br /><br />Amazon also said the system could be used to cut across an off-limits work space to reach a restroom. <br /><br />The reference to the cage transport system appears in a case study of the systems that make up Amazon's Echo ecosystem by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler published on September 7.
