Image courtesy of Google Maps

The Greater Boston robotics industry cluster is set to expand with approval of an Amazon Robotics R&D center in Wilmington.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the company’s plans for the facility, through an email stating the e-commerce leader is “working through the process to open a new R&D facility that would supplement our existing Massachusetts footprint.”

National Development acquired the former Instron Corp. property in 2022 for $16 million and developed a 298,895-square-foot warehouse and logistics building that was completed in 2023.

The Wilmington Board of Appeals approved a special permit for Amazon’s R&D use at the facility on June 10, following a unanimous vote. According to a real estate source, Amazon Robotics will occupy more than half of the facility.

The project would further expand a sizable robotics industry presence in Boston suburbs.

In 2012, Amazon Robotics established a major presence in Greater Boston with its acquisition of Kiva Systems and its 229,000-square-foot robotics research hub at 300 Riverpark Drive in North Reading.

In 2019, Amazon Robotics expanded with a 350,000-square-foot lease at Atlantic Management’s 50 Otis St. in Westborough, a former Astrazeneca campus.

In 2023, Locus Robotics broke ground on a new 200,000-square-foot headquarters at 100 Fordham Road in Wilmington.

Roomba-maker iRobot leased 208,686 square feet in Bedford Business Park in 2017, but reduced its footprint to 102,000 square feet during its bankruptcy case in 2025.