“If you need to build ad hoc perception models for every task and incarnation, that simply can’t scale,” said Kapil Katyal, senior manager of applied sciences at Amazon Robotics, during a presentation attended by Ars at the Intelligent Robots & Systems conference in Pittsburgh on September 29.
“So one of the initiatives we took on our team was to design a basic model that could work for any new robot additions we implement, and for all the perception tasks we need to perform on them,” Katyal said.
Most robotic arms have relied primarily on vision. But Amazon’s newest robotic arm, Vulcan, is the first to combine vision with force feedback sensors capable of providing a sense of touch. This allows the robot to accurately select or store items within fabric-covered inventory modules.
“You need to be able to insert an element, create space or take something out,” Dresser said. “Those are really difficult things to do with today’s traditional non-touch systems, like the suction-based systems that are part of Sparrow.”
Vulcan initially began operating at Amazon fulfillment centers in Spokane, Washington, and Hamburg, Germany, starting in 2025. It is not yet widely deployed, but Dresser said the company hopes to expand use of this robotic arm in 2027.
The Vulcan robotic arm has force feedback sensors that provide a tactile sensation while picking and storing items in high inventory modules.
The Vulcan robotic arm has force feedback sensors that provide a tactile sensation while picking and storing items in high inventory modules.
Credit: Amazon
Analyzing the human impact
Each new robot has benefited Amazon’s human workforce, according to the company. For example, Vulcan focuses on picking up and putting away items located in the top rows of inventory modules that would otherwise require a person to use a step ladder, as well as handling items located just above the floor. This allows employees to focus on picking up and putting away items that are within their most comfortable reach.
But investigations by labor rights groups, journalists and the US Congress have painted a less rosy picture of Amazon’s automation campaign over the years. The Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of unions, published reports in May 2021 and April 2022 showing higher injury rates in Amazon’s robotic warehouses compared to non-robotic warehouses. That analysis was based on injury data reported by companies to the U.S. government from 2017 to 2020.
