Amazon reports the development of a new warehouse robot, named Vulcan, equipped with a tactile sense capable of detecting certain items it handles.

The two-armed Vulcan, a robot capable of manipulating goods within Amazon's warehouse storage compartments, employs force sensors to detect contact with objects; one arm repositions items in a compartment, while the other, fitted with a camera and suction cup, retrieves them.

Amazon has stated that Vulcan was educated using physical data, encompassing force and tactile responses, enabling it to select roughly 75% of Amazon's inventory; furthermore, they claim it possesses the capacity for self-enhancement over time. The robot has been implemented in locations such as Spokane, Washington, and Hamburg, Germany, where it has, up to this point, handled half a million orders.

Vulcan represents the most recent integration into Amazon's extensive array of warehouse robots, a fleet numbering in the hundreds of thousands deployed to expedite customer order fulfillment across its worldwide storage infrastructure. While detractors contend that Amazon's substantial investments in robotics are strategically aimed at supplanting human labor, Amazon maintains a contrary stance, asserting that robots such as Vulcan primarily serve to enhance the safety protocols within its warehouse environments.