Amazon.com Inc. has patented robot teams to handle large, heavy or odd-shaped warehouse inventory.
The Seattle-based company has previously used larger, specialized mobile robots designed to handle bulkier items. But that approach proved expensive and inefficient because the bulkier items are found less frequently in warehouse inventory.
The patent, issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, envisions upgrading the software of existing mobile robots to deploy in groups when necessary.
“Each…