Amazon this week introduced its first-ever fully autonomous mobile robot for warehouses. The robot, called Proteus, will soon be deployed in fulfillment centers and sorting centers, 10 years after Amazon’s robotics department was created with the acquisition of robotics company Kiva Systems.
The e-commerce giant has long said its ultimate goal is to build warehouse robots that work “alongside” humans rather than replace them. Unlike other warehouse robots, Proteus can actually work safely “alongside” humans.
“Historically, it has been difficult to safely integrate robotics into the same physical space as people,” Amazon explains in a blog post. “We believe Proteus will change that while remaining smart, secure and collaborative. »
Manipulate carts and carry heavy loads
Using advanced security, perception and navigation technologies, Proteus can autonomously move around people while doing its job, so it doesn’t need to be confined to restricted areas.
The robot will first be deployed to handle GoCarts, the non-automated wheeled carts used to transport packages around the facilities. It slips under a GoCart, lifts it up and takes it where it needs to go. According to Amazon, automating the handling of GoCarts should reduce the need for people to manually move heavy objects.
Amazon also announced the prototyping of a robotic arm called Cardinal, which can handle packages weighing up to 15 kg. It uses AI and computer vision to select a package from a stack of packages, lift it, read the label and place it precisely into a GoCart. Using Cardinal speeds up package processing time by converting manual batch work into continuous, automated work.
Amazon plans to roll out this technology to fulfillment centers next year.
Source: ZDNet.com