Amazon Says Warehouse Robot Can Work 20-Hour Shifts and ‘Feel’ Items

Amazon warehouse workers’ newest high-tech colleague has a sensitive side.

The e-commerce giant’s latest robot, named Vulcan, is its first system that can sense touch, enabling it to handle a wider selection of oddly shaped items than older models.

“In the past, when industrial robots have unexpected contact, they either emergency stop or smash through that contact,” Amazon director of applied science Aaron Parness said in a statement.

Vulcan’s arm uses force-feedback sensors that allow the robot to detect how much pressure it can apply without damaging an object, and Amazon says the tech enables the robot to pick and stow three quarters of the kinds of products that are kept at a typical fulfillment center.

The tech is currently in use at centers in Spokane, Washington, and Hamburg, Germany. Amazon plans to deploy more units across the US and Europe aver the next few years.

Apart from its ability to work 20-hour shifts, Amazon also says the Vulcan robot complements human workers by helping reach items from high bins without a step-ladder, and low bins that would require crouching.

That frees up workers to focus their efforts on objects stored in mid-height bins, which the company calls their “power zone.”

“Vulcan works alongside our employees, and the combination is better than either on their own,” Parness said.

Parness also told CNBC that Amazon fulfillment centers will still need human workers, especially for higher-tech roles that involve installing and maintaining the expanding robot fleet.

“I don’t believe in 100% automation,” he told the outlet. “If we had to get Vulcan to do 100% of the stows and picks, it would never happen. You would wait your entire life. Amazon understands this.”