Amazon's Proteus robot gets natural-language controls, heads to Europe

At its Delivering the Future event in London, Amazon unveiled an upgraded version of its Proteus robot that can interpret natural-language instructions and coordinate material-movement tasks. Scott Dresser, VP of Amazon Robotics, explained that Proteus now figures out priority, route, and timing on its own, acting as an assistant for material movement. The robot handles carts weighing up to 800 pounds and operates autonomously thanks to onboard sensors. It is currently deployed in 25 U.S. fulfillment centers, with a European rollout scheduled for the first half of next year.

Alongside Proteus, Amazon introduced STARK, a robot designed to lift heavy totes from conveyor systems and place them into carts, and expanded Vulcan, a robot that uses vision systems and tactile sensing to handle delicate items. STARK will be deployed in 15 European fulfillment centers by 2027, while Vulcan has already expanded from Spokane, Washington, to a facility in Hamburg, Germany. As part of its broader European push, Amazon plans to invest €10 billion and add 25,000 workers to its European workforce, emphasizing that the robots are meant to handle repetitive or physically demanding tasks while employees focus on work requiring human judgment.