Amazon has introduced a new robot called Vulcan, designed to pick and stow items in its fulfillment centers using a sense of touch. The company revealed the system at its Delivering the Future event in Dortmund, Germany, calling it a major step forward for robotics and warehouse automation.
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“Vulcan represents a fundamental leap forward in robotics,” said Aaron Parness, Amazon’s Director of Applied Science. “It’s not just seeing the world, it’s feeling it, enabling capabilities that were impossible for Amazon robots until now.”
Unlike earlier robots, Vulcan uses sensors to detect contact and pressure, allowing it to handle items with more precision and avoid damage. The robot can store items in fabric bins about a foot square, rearranging products with a tool that resembles a ruler attached to a hair straightener. A second tool uses a suction cup and camera to grab items without picking up extras by mistake.
Vulcan is currently operating in fulfillment centers in Spokane, Washington, and Hamburg, Germany. It’s already processed more than 500,000 items and can handle around 75% of Amazon’s stored products at speeds close to human workers. “Working alongside Vulcan, we can pick and stow with greater ease,” said Kari Freitas Hardy, a frontline employee in Spokane. “It’s great to see how many of my co-workers have gained new job skills and taken on more technical roles, like I did.”
Vulcan is especially helpful for picking and stowing items stored on the highest and lowest levels of Amazon’s eight-foot-tall inventory pods—jobs that often require employees to use ladders or bend repeatedly. “Vulcan will let our associates spend less time on step ladders and more time working in their power zone,” Parness said.
Amazon says the robot is trained on real-world physical data, including how objects feel when touched. It also learns from its own mistakes, helping it get better over time. Vulcan is expected to roll out across more Amazon facilities in the U.S. and Europe over the next few years.
“I don’t believe in 100 percent automation,” Parness told CNBC. “If we had to get Vulcan to do 100 percent of the stows and picks, it would never happen.”
Amazon has deployed over 750,000 robots in its operations to date, and says tools like Vulcan are meant to work alongside employees, not replace them.
