Amazon Vulcan: The first robot with a sense of touch

Amazon has introduced a new advanced warehouse robot named Vulcan, designed to handle goods with a sense of touch. Equipped with two robotic arms, Vulcan can feel its way through tasks using force sensors, making it one of the company’s most sophisticated robots yet.

A Robot That Feels Before It Acts

One of Vulcan’s arms uses a camera and suction cup to grasp items, while the other rearranges them inside Amazon’s storage compartments. The force sensors allow Vulcan to detect when it has made contact with an object — simulating a sense of touch and physical awareness.

Amazon says Vulcan was trained using physical data, including tactile feedback, allowing it to handle roughly 75% of the company’s product inventory. The robot is designed to self-improve over time, adapting to new shapes, weights, and arrangements without human intervention.

Real-World Deployment and Performance

Vulcan has already been deployed at Amazon warehouses in Spokane, Washington, and Hamburg, Germany, where it has processed over 500,000 customer orders to date.

Its dual-arm design enables more nuanced movement inside Amazon’s modular storage compartments — improving both speed and precision in order fulfillment.

Part of a Growing Robot Workforce

Vulcan joins a growing fleet of hundreds of thousands of robots working across Amazon’s global logistics network. These include sorting bots, mobile shelves, and robotic arms that handle repetitive or strenuous tasks.

Despite concerns that robots like Vulcan could replace human workers, Amazon maintains that its robotics investments are focused on enhancing safety and efficiency, not reducing headcount. The company argues that robots help workers by handling tasks that are dangerous, repetitive, or physically demanding.

The Future of Fulfillment

With Vulcan, Amazon continues to push the boundaries of automation, blending AI, robotics, and physical feedback to create machines that more closely mirror human capabilities. As these systems become more capable, Amazon may be able to speed up deliveries, reduce workplace injuries, and scale operations more intelligently — while still relying on human oversight and decision-making.