Developed by a team led by researchers from North Carolina State University, these "metabots" are capable of moving around a surface or grasping objects.

As of last December, the state had over 154,000 Amazon jobs - the most in the country - as well as 68 fulfillment and sortation centers and 61 delivery stations. Amazon recently announced a 30,000-worker hiring surge in the state to help with the holidays,

The move could replace 600,000 human jobs that would have existed by 2033. Robots help Amazon warehouse workers with tasks ranging from sorting items to packaging them for shipment. For example, a new robot named Vulcan can pick items from different shelves to be packaged.