A man claiming to be an Amazon employee went viral after posting a video to TikTok about how the robotic shelves inside the warehouse automatically moved, trapping him inside.
The employee, who goes by Robotman or the username @robotman77, uploaded the video to TikTok where it received more than 961,000 views and 2,000 comments since Wednesday.
"It can sometimes get crazy," the caption of the now-viral video read. "Them robots like to mess around."
In 2012, Amazon purchased a robotics company called Kiva Systems which gave them ownership over the companies technology including robotic shelving inside the warehouses.
A decade later, the $775 million purchase has led to the creation of more than 200,000 mobile robots inside the company's warehouses. The robots are capable of reading barcodes for directions as they make their way through the warehouse and deliver shelves of products to employees.
In the video, the employee showed a tall, yellow warehouse shelf blocking him from walking around it on either side.
"Sometimes this will happen," the employee said as he showed that he was blocked in. "I got one pod here, can't get out, and then I've got another pod."
The employee then turned the camera and showed a robotic shelf rolling its way into the aisle the employee was trapped in.
"These pods keep messing with me," the man said as he tried to find a way out of the aisle of warehouse shelves.
As the man walked, he showed that there were no spaces between the different shelves and he was unable to find a way out of the aisle. As he filmed, another robotic shelf pulled out in front of him.
"The robots at work trap me," the on-screen text read. "It took me like 15 minutes to get out."
At one point the employee thought he found a way out but realized another shelf was blocking the exit.
"Gotta find a way out," the man said after a frustrated sigh. "This is the part where it seems like a maze."
The employee continued trying to find a way out of the "maze" of shelves but found himself unsuccessful as each opening was closed off by another shelf. The video ended before the employee was able to find his way out, yet he seemed confident he could sneak through a shelf.
More than 2,000 users flocked to the comments section of the video, many joking about how the maze reminded them of a science fiction movie depicting machines from the future.
"Episode of Black Mirror. The robots trap you in there until you go feral and then guide you to another deranged worker and livestream the bloodbath," one user commented.
"It's like maze runner," one user mentioned.
"The boss wouldn't believe you," another comment read. "Good thing you recorded it!"
"They should really design a map for y'all with dynamic routing," another wrote. "Like a video game lol."
Newsweek reached out to @robotman77 and Amazon for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more
