Amazon has announced its “first fully autonomous mobile robot” whose main function is to move large carts throughout the company’s warehouses. The robot has been named Proteus, and Amazon claims that it can navigate safely around human employees.
Amazon stated that Proteus robots have “advanced safety, perception, and navigation technology.” The robots shine a green light in front of themselves while moving around. If a human steps into the beam, the robot stops moving and only resumes moving when the person has moved away.
There are also other new advancements coming to Amazon’s warehouses. Another robotic system named Cardinal can lift packages weighing up to 50 pounds. Amazon says that the robot’s vision systems allow it to pick out and lift individual packages, even if they are in a pile.
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Amazon also unveiled new technology that allows employees to stop using hand scanners and instead stand in front of a camera that will recognize a package without pausing to scan the label. Not too much has been revealed about this feature just yet.
The company stated that it is not looking to replace workers with robots, telling Forbes that “replacing people with machines is just a fallacy.”
There are concerns by many that the introduction of such advanced robots could place unrealistic expectations on how fast workers should be moving, leading to safety concerns. However, Amazon stated that its new robotic systems could improve safety. For example, Cardinal would help lift heavy packages that otherwise have the potential to injure workers.
