Amazon presents Vulcan, the robot with the sense of touch
A sensitivity arm presented in the Last Mile Innovation centre in Dortmund opens up new scenarios for warehouse logistics
2' min read
2' min read
Amazon presents Vulcan, the robot with the sense of touchWhat is natural for many humans, for most robots remains an insurmountable challenge: to feel and perceive by touch the size, roughness, thickness of a surface.
An important challenge that Amazon takes up by presenting Vulcan, the company's first 'sensitive' arm and opening up new possibilities for the use of robotics in warehouses.
This is not the first Amazon robot capable of picking up objects: already existing systems such as Sparrow, Cardinal and Robin employ computer vision and suction cups to handle individual products or packages prepared by warehouse operators. Similarly, robots such as Proteus, Titan and Hercules lift and transport entire trolleys of goods within logistics centres.
Vulcan, however, is the first one with a 'sense of touch', i.e. the ability to understand when and how it comes into contact with an object and to adapt grip and pressure accordingly.
It can easily manipulate objects inside compartments to make room for what it needs to store, and it also knows when it makes contact and how much force it is applying, being able to stop before it causes damage, according to Amazon. As the company - which first demonstrated the robot at its Delivering the Future event at the Last Mile Innovation centre in Dortmund, Germany - explained, the robot is also able to pick up an object, pointing out that it can recognise which object to grab and the best place to grab it.
