Amazon has said that its new Vulcan robot has the ability to not only pick things up but also sense when it is touching something without the use of visual cues.
The robot is able to ‘know’ when it makes contact with something, as well as how much force it is applying to that object, in a similar but less complex way to how we would when interacting physically with an object.
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The company has said that it can do this by using ‘end of arm tooling’ technology, where a part of the robot arm slides out, pushing objects out of the way already in the robot’s compartments, so that it can reach the new item.
The paddles on the end of the arm then grab the item, adjusting their grip strength based on the item’s size and shape. Then a conveyor-like component moves the item into the pick bin.
And as for picking items out of those compartments, the robot uses an arm with a suction cup grabs the item, and a camera is used to make sure the correct item was picked up.
Amazon has said that its Vulcan robot can handle three quarters of the millions of products the company sells.
Aaron Parness, director of robotics AI at Amazon, said: “In the past, when industrial robots have unexpected contact, they either emergency stop or smash through that contact. They often don’t even know they have hit something because they cannot sense it.
“Our vision is to scale this technology across our network, enhancing operational efficiency, improving workplace safety, and supporting our employees by reducing physically demanding tasks.”
Achievements and innovations in retail and e-commerce, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, automotive, transport & logistics, and more will be celebrated at the Robotics & Automation Awards on 29 October 2025 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.roboticsandautomationawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s robotics and automation sectors!
