When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Amazon unveils Vulcan, its 'first robot with a sense of touch' David Uzondu Neowin · May 7, 2025 16:46 EDT Amazon has announced Vulcan, a new robotic system it describes as its first robot with a sense of touch. Unveiled today at a "Delivering the Future" event in Dortmund, Germany, the company believes that the new robot represents a step forward in robotics for its fulfillment centers. Standard industrial robots often lack the ability to sense contact, potentially leading to damage or simply stopping when encountering unexpected obstacles. Vulcan overcomes this limitation using advanced engineering and "physical AI" that allows it to understand when and how it interacts with objects. Aaron Parness, Amazon's director of applied science, called Vulcan "a fundamental leap forward," stating: It's not just seeing the world, it's feeling it, enabling capabilities that were impossible for Amazon robots until now. One key application for Vulcan is handling items within crowded storage pods. These pods can contain many different items packed closely together. A robot without a sense of touch would struggle to maneuver in such tight spaces without damaging contents. Vulcan uses force feedback sensors and specialized "end of arm tooling," essentially paddles that can hold items and a tool to gently shift existing items, adjusting its grip strength and applied force to avoid causing damage while picking or stowing goods. Vulcan uses a combination of a camera and a suction cup for picking items, ensuring it grabs the correct one and nothing else. Amazon states that Vulcan can pick and stow around 75% of the various items stored in its fulfillment centers at speeds comparable to human employees. Here's a GIF it shared of the robot at work: The integration of Vulcan also aims to improve safety and ergonomics for workers. The robot is being deployed to handle items stored in the highest and lowest parts of storage pods, tasks that typically require employees to use stepladders or bend down. By assigning these physically demanding positions to Vulcan, the company hopes that human workers can focus on tasks at more comfortable heights, potentially reducing strain and improving overall workflow. Amazon plans to deploy Vulcan systems in fulfillment centers across Europe and the United States over the next couple of years. Speaking of AI, the company has been active on several fronts beyond just physical robots. Amazon Prime Video is reportedly testing AI-driven dubbing to make foreign language content more accessible, piloting English and Latin American Spanish dubs for select titles. In addition to that, the company recently introduced the Nova Sonic audio model, an AI designed for natural, real-time voice interactions, and updated its Nova Reel video generation model to version 1.1, which now allows users to create videos up to two minutes long. You can learn more about Vulcan here. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed