๐Ÿค– Amazon's new warehouse robot understands plain language

๐Ÿค– Amazon's new warehouse robot understands plain language

Employees can give the robot instructions the same way they would talk to a colleague. The robot is part of a โ‚ฌ10 billion investment to expand Amazon's operations in Europe, a move expected to create 25,000 new jobs.

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  • Amazon has unveiled a new version of its warehouse robot Proteus that understands plain spoken language.
  • Employees can give the robot instructions the same way they would talk to a colleague.
  • The robot is part of a โ‚ฌ10 billion investment to expand Amazon's operations in Europe, a move expected to create 25,000 new jobs.

The robot understands ordinary instructions

Amazon showed the new version of Proteus at its "Delivering the Future" event in London on Thursday. The biggest change is how employees communicate with the robot. Previously it required technical commands or a programming interface. Now workers can assign the robot tasks in plain spoken language.

Scott Dresser, vice president of Amazon Robotics, describes how the worker tells the robot what needs to be done. The robot then works out the priority, the route, and the timing on its own. He calls it an assistant for moving material.

Background and new uses

Amazon introduced Proteus in 2022 as the company's first fully autonomous mobile robot. It was built to work in dock areas and fulfillment centers. The robot can pull carts full of packages weighing nearly 882 pounds over long distances.

The new version can work across more parts of Amazon's facilities, anywhere items need to be moved. That includes transporting containers and working at delivery sites.

Part of a larger investment

The new Proteus robots will eventually join the more than one million robots already working across Amazon's network.

The robot is part of a โ‚ฌ10 billion investment, equal to $11.6 billion, to expand and modernize Amazon's operations in Europe. The investment also includes the expansion of Vulcan, Amazon's first robot with a sense of touch.

As part of the investment, Amazon plans to grow its European fulfillment center workforce by 25,000 people in the coming years. The latest version of Proteus is currently being piloted in Amazon's labs and is planned for deployment in Europe in the first half of 2027.

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