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Amazon deploys AI robots 'Proteus' and 'Vulkan' for express deliveries across Europe
🇬🇷 Greece /Technology

Amazon deploys AI robots 'Proteus' and 'Vulkan' for express deliveries across Europe

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Amazon is investing 10 billion euros to upgrade its European logistics network, introducing AI-powered robots like Proteus.
  • Proteus robots can communicate with human workers via voice commands and are designed to move heavy items within warehouses.
  • The new system will be piloted in Amazon's labs before a planned rollout across Europe in the first half of 2027.

Amazon is significantly upgrading its European operations with a 10 billion euro investment aimed at enhancing its logistics network. A key component of this investment is the introduction of advanced AI-powered robots, notably the upgraded mobile robot named Proteus.

Proteus represents a leap in warehouse automation. Unlike previous systems that required specialized software for direction, Proteus can understand and respond to voice commands from human employees, allowing them to assign tasks as if communicating with a colleague. These robots are engineered to handle heavy lifting and transport large carts of products throughout Amazon's vast warehouse facilities.

The company showcased the Proteus robot at its fulfillment center in Dartford, east of London. Amazon states that the new system can operate across extensive areas, facilitating the movement of containers upon arrival, transferring them between workstations, and supporting staff in fulfillment and delivery spaces. This next generation of Proteus is designed for greater operational flexibility.

You tell it what needs to be done. It figures out the priority, the path, the timing.

— Scott Dresser, Vice President of Amazon RoboticsExplaining how human workers can now assign tasks to the Proteus robot using voice commands.

While currently in pilot testing, Amazon plans to deploy the Proteus system in its European storage and distribution centers during the first half of 2027. The company also intends to expand the use of its touch-operated Vulcan robots and a new object-handling system across more European locations next year. Additionally, the next-generation AI assistant, Alexa+, is slated for release in 10 more countries in 2027.

Addressing concerns about job displacement, Amazon asserts that these technologies create new roles alongside existing ones, claiming to have hired hundreds of thousands globally since integrating robotics. The company maintains that its robots are designed to assist employees and optimize operations rather than replace them.

The new system can operate anywhere items need to be moved.

— AmazonDescribing the expanded operational range of the next-generation Proteus robot.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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