FedEx is collaborating with a robotics organization to tap into the wellspring of East Coast companies developing robots for the transportation and logistics industry.

FedEx’s Rebecca Yeung, vice president of service experience leadership, said the relationship with the Boston-based nonprofit MassRobotics gives FedEx “unique exposure and access” to companies in robotics and automation.

“We are particularly interested in learning about emerging technologies that address our business challenges; and as an added benefit of this relationship, we will have an opportunity to work closely with these robotics companies and have insight into their development of solutions that impact the transportation and logistics industry,” Yeung said in a statement.

MassRobotics calls itself the United States' "largest innovation hub for robotics, AI (artificial intelligence) and connected devices” and has 300-plus partners, corporations, universities, startups and more in its community. Larger MassRobotics partners include Amazon Robotics, Panasonic and Honda Xcelerator.

“It’s basically an opportunity for both of our organizations to work together and see what we can do together,” MassRobotics co-founder Fady Saad said of the partnership with FedEx, which was noted in a MassRobotics announcement earlier this month.

Corporate partners like Memphis' FedEx “provide strategic guidance, help fund MassRobotics’ programming, and fuel the organization’s expansion,” MassRobotics said in the announcement. MassRobotics backs various robotics activities and events and provides space for companies in the field to collaborate and grow.

Beyond Yeung's statement, FedEx didn't elaborate further on its relationship with MassRobotics.

Saad, who is also MassRobotics' director of partnerships, said FedEx expressed interest in a corporate-level collaboration with the organization last summer after he had talked with different divisions at the company.

“It mainly gives them visibility of amazing startups on the East Coast (making) awesome logistics robots,” he said of FedEx.

FedEx and other logistics giants like UPS and DHL are realizing the Boston area has become “a hub” for logistics robot companies, Saad said. FedEx technologists connecting with these companies will “open the doors to future strategic opportunities,” according to MassRobotics.

Several Massachusetts companies like Locus Robotics, 6 River Systems and Vecna Robotics have developed technologies relating to e-commerce fulfillment and warehouse automation.

For example, Locus Robotics has developed “LocusBots” to locate and transport items in warehouses to packing stations. 6 River Systems’ warehouse robot “Chuck” is built from technology and sensors used in autonomous vehicles.

FedEx is no stranger to emerging technologies, as the company uses autonomous tuggers to help transport packages through hubs and will soon test its SameDay Bot in Memphis.

Factories and warehouses involved in logistics are already highly automated, Saad said, adding major players in logistics and e-commerce have been deploying robots themselves. Advances in robotics allow companies to automate parts of their operations that were hard to before, he said.

“In our world, a robot is anything that has some sort of intelligence and actuations," Saad said. "So if it moves and handles things with some sort of intelligence, and it can adapt and learn, then it’s some sort of a robot.”

Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.