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Amazon Says New Warehouse Robot Can 'Feel' Items, But Won't Replace Workers (cnbc.com) 61

Posted by BeauHD from the we'll-see-about-that dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: There's a new warehouse robot at Amazon that has a sense of touch, allowing it to handle a job previously only done by humans. Amazon unveiled the robot, called Vulcan, Wednesday at an event in Germany. CNBC got an exclusive first look at Vulcan in April, as it stowed items into tall, yellow bins at a warehouse in Spokane, Washington. An up-close look at the "hand" of the robot reveals how it can feel the items it touches using an AI-powered sensor to determine the precise pressure and torque each object needs. This innovative gripper helps give Vulcan the ability to manipulate 75% of the 1 million unique items in inventory at the Spokane warehouse. Amazon has used other robotic arms inside its warehouses since 2021, but those rely on cameras for detection and suction for grasp, limiting what types of objects they can handle.

Vulcan can also operate 20 hours a day, according to Aaron Parness, who heads up the Amazon Robotics team that developed the machine. Still, Parness told CNBC that instead of replacing people in its warehouses, Vulcan will create new, higher skilled jobs that involve maintaining, operating, installing and building the robots. When asked if Amazon will fully automate warehouses in the future, Parness said, "not at all." "I don't believe in 100% automation," he said. "If we had to get Vulcan to do 100% of the stows and picks, it would never happen. You would wait your entire life. Amazon understands this." The goal is for Vulcan to handle 100% of the stowing that happens in the top rows of bins, which are difficult for people to reach, Parness said. [...] Amazon said Vulcan is operating at about the same speed as a human worker and can handle items up to 8 pounds. It operates behind a fence, sequestered from human workers to reduce the risk of accidents.
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Amazon Says New Warehouse Robot Can 'Feel' Items, But Won't Replace Workers More

Amazon Says New Warehouse Robot Can 'Feel' Items, But Won't Replace Workers

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  • So? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I too can feel items. It was no more than a week ago when I last felt an item. I think it was made of wood, or maybe plastic. Good memories.

    • Yes, but do you work continuously for 24 hours a day without pay or health insurance?

      • People do not realize how much disgust and disdain the 1% have for us. They loath us and they loath that they're dependent on us. They're itching for the day when they can replace us not for the profits, but so that they can be absolute masters of everything.

        People always say "who's gonna buy their products?". Do you think they haven't considered that? Do you think they're happy about that dependency? About needing you?

        • You're projecting.

          • Projecting would imply that I want the thing that I am accusing other people of.

            Do you think I'm a billionaire? Because in order for me to want the thing I'm accusing them of I'd have to be a billionaire because it would be nonsensical for me to pursue the ability to live as a king without subjects.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

              Projecting implies that you are attributing to others what you feel. You are almost certainly a 1%er. Top 1% income is 44,000 USD / year. Yes, I know you meant 1% of the US, which is about 790k, but that's a little elitist of you, isn't it?

              So. You're a 1%er. Do you hate your dependence on people in other parts of the world?

              On second thought, maybe don't answer that.

        • Yeah, but the tech is nowhere near ready to replace us... but they aren't smart enough to know that, so they will try early and fuck everything all up, so it's not any consolation or anything.

          • I don't think that's true. I don't think it's there just yet but I don't think it's fair to say it's nowhere as near.

            Also remember theydon't have to replace every single one of us to make the vast majority of our lives absolutely horrifically miserable.

            Imagine a life like living on the worst kind of Indian reservation but without the modicum of respect that we afford the indigenous people. That's what they've got in store for us.

            I think the problem is it's just too bizarre and horrific for us t

            • I don't think that's true. I don't think it's there just yet but I don't think it's fair to say it's nowhere as near.

              The robots can't even work without guidance, let alone maintenance, and can't maintain themselves yet either. If they're going to replace their virtual slaves, who they can use up and discard and then replace and never have to deal with anything like maintenance, they will need them to be able to do these things. We already know they don't know how to manage humans, robots are going to be even harder to manage.

              The interlocking web of disciplines that makes the modern world possible can't be implemented with

        • They loath us and they loath that they're dependent on us.

          While I can't speak for the 1%, those of us who pay taxes loathe that you're hopelessly dependent on us. We loathe that, in most countries, people who are more valuable than you have to go hungry, while our money gives you enough food to get fat for doing absolutely nothing.

          • Your one step away from Nazi style talk about parasites. Good job. It took the Republican party and the right wing quite a bit of time to get you there but they got you there.

            I can't imagine you're going to enjoy me pointing it out either. Are you going to mod me down with one of your Alt accounts?

            • Your one step away from Nazi style talk about parasites. Good job.

              Nope, that's a projection on your part. You're more like a serial squatter. Nobody likes a serial squatter, but there's not much anybody can do about it once you got in and started eating all the Cheetos.

              The FACT is, it doesn't do either you or me any favors when you overeat on my dime. So why do you do it?

              I can't imagine you're going to enjoy me pointing it out either. Are you going to mod me down with one of your Alt accounts?

              I don't really care about mod points, in fact, it's super rare that I even use mod points even when I get them. I just had 15 and sat on them for I don't know how long, didn't spend a single one, and now

          • Even a drug addled schizophrenic screaming at people on the subway has more value to society than the negative value of sociopathic right wing nuts like you. They're for example costing society the Healthcare of one person, where your ilk seeks to make it inaccessible to millions to enrich a handful. He makes the lives worse for a handful, you organize to make it worse for everyone. He hates because his mind is broken, you hate out of ignorance and fear with the capacity to know better.

            • Even a drug addled schizophrenic screaming at people on the subway has more value to society than the negative value of sociopathic right wing nuts like you.

              And you base all of this on what?

              More than likely, I pay more than your total income in taxes.
              More than likely, you're far more "right wing" than I am.
              More than likely, you're far more sociopathic than I am...shit, this post alone is strong evidence of that.

              They're for example costing society the Healthcare of one person, where your ilk seeks to make it inaccessible to millions to enrich a handful.

              Actually, the model of health care I'd prefer to see is that of Switzerland. Theirs has a pretty good balance of access and giving practitioners enough freedom to work as they choose. This is in stark contrast to that of e.g. Canada and the UK. The hard

  • Despite what Amazon says, this will eliminate some warehouse worker jobs. This is great because many of those people bitching and moaning about their Amazon warehouse jobs will have their futures freed up to find jobs that they like much better.

    • Or no job at all. We can all just sit back and collect UBI on our fully automated economy.

      Of course we'll have to overthrow the bourgeoisie first, because if they own the factors and the robots they certainly aren't going to be keen on paying non-workers a portion of their profits.

      (insert: Marxism Intensifies meme)

      • If half the population was on UBI, would there still be enough demand (for other than food, clothing, and shelter I suppose) to support the capitalist economy producing goods and services that only half the population could possibly afford?

        And if the capitalist consumer-driven economy is floundering on lack of demand, where will the taxation revenue to support the UBI come from?

        How does that economic math work out?

        • Capitalism is a system supported by government institutions, such as the ability to form private companies and sell shares or bonds. You can have this type of system in parallel with another, even if only a portion of your population participates in the production or consumption side. This is known as mixed economy.

          And if the capitalist consumer-driven economy is floundering on lack of demand, where will the taxation revenue to support the UBI come from?

          If anyone is making money, you can tax them. Ultimately the government's revenues are going to be limited by the economic output of the nation. If your GDP is crashing, then you will not likely b

        • How does that economic math work out?

          It will have basically the same problem that minimum wage has: No matter how high you raise it, it will never feel like it's enough. And each time you do, you increase the velocity of money, which further accelerates inflation, which brings you back to step 1.

          It's kind of funny that because progressives have an incredibly distorted view of how Nordic countries work. Among other things, they don't realize that those countries don't have a minimum wage, and by and large their economy is far more market driven

          • And each time you do, you increase the velocity of money, which further accelerates inflation

            The problem with this logic is that you need to argue the reverse too: that reducing inflation would be best done by taxing people so they can't spend as much money.

            That very clearly shows the flaw in the logic. It implies that if you raise income by 10% for people with little money that all their costs will also rise with 10% or more. That is nonsense as it assumes that all additional income is spent and that all that spending converts directly into price hikes of things they buy.

            The truth is that inflatio

            • The problem with this logic is that you need to argue the reverse too: that reducing inflation would be best done by taxing people so they can't spend as much money.

              There's no inherent need to do any such thing. In fact, there are multiple problems with this -- raising taxes doesn't reduce the velocity of money unless the government is just going to sit on it, otherwise it does exactly the opposite as it will increase government spending. Recall earlier I mentioned the velocity of money, read more about it here:

              https://www.investopedia.com/t... [investopedia.com]

              Notice the mention of GDP. Riddle me this: What factors into GDP?

              A far more effective way of slowing inflation is raising the i

              • In fact, there are multiple problems with this -- raising taxes doesn't reduce the velocity of money unless the government is just going to sit on it, otherwise it does exactly the opposite as it will increase government spending.

                You already correctly identify that it matters what the money is spent on: "For every 10% that you raise the minimum wage, food prices see a short-term increase by 4%, and everything else is generally around 0.4%"

                Now tell me: how much of the taxed money is the government going to spend on food? I'd like to add that it makes a massive difference which political flavor is ruling. Almost all of it may go to defense spending or debt relief, for instance.

                So yes, you still need to argue the reverse: Taxing the po

      • and they're building killer robots for it.

        • The whole "AI" sentry gun industry is a huge liability. But perhaps the billionaires will find the Trump administration and DOJ willing to shield them from the liability. I mean if you can force people on a plane to a foreign prison without any pesky judge looking over your shoulder, then anything should be possible.

          • This is a good time to practice building battlebots out of scrapped equipment.

            I remember there were some young programmers who built a paintball sentry gun that went viral, I seem to recall that they became defense contractors. And before them, some other folks had made a 1/4 scale predator drone you could buy for around three grand that could fly waypoints and "take photographs".

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Or no job at all. We can all just sit back and collect UBI on our fully automated economy.

        You expect to be provided for? How, um, quaint, of you. Contributing to the manufacturing of Soylent Green is a more likely future.

        • I'm part of the liberal elite, well more accurately the petite bourgeoisie. So I already own a fraction of the robots and AI through my investment portfolio. I'm probably on the side of the wealth gap that isn't quickly rocketing to the bottom.

          But center-right voters who work for a living and vote Republican? Those guys are really going to suffer under the new world order. When they start replacing truck drivers, construction electricians, welders, and pretty much all the trades. It will be slow at first, a

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      Despite what Amazon says, this will eliminate some warehouse worker jobs.

      Not necessarily. It could just end up being used to reduce worker hours below the level where they have to pay for health insurance. :-D

      Or, slightly less cynically, it could allow them to scale up operations without hiring any additional people. For example, every warehouse could add Amazon Fresh support, and the human workers could be moved to produce packing duty while the robots do what the humans used to do. That technically wouldn't be replacing the humans, because they humans would still have jobs

  • Great, now the robots can squeeze the Charmin (Score:4, Funny)

    by SubmergedInTech ( 7710960 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2025 @06:20PM (#65360047)

    Mr. Whipple can be replaced. We have the technology.

  • Online retailers should have done a better job forcing their suppliers to ship them items in standardized boxes that a robot can handle instead of retail packaging. They have leverage, they should have used it. Instead of trying to make their robot adapt to the input they should have made the input come in a format they can use.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Online retailers should have done a better job forcing their suppliers to ship them items in standardized boxes that a robot can handle instead of retail packaging. They have leverage, they should have used it. Instead of trying to make their robot adapt to the input they should have made the input come in a format they can use.

      This works for Amazon because they push the cost and hassle of dealing with package fillings (paper, foam, plastic bags, peanuts, et al) onto the end user. It's peanuts for the end user as the total cost is distributed across millions but if an Amazon warehouse had to deal with that from their suppliers it would cost them. Plus a lot of the savings for Amazon come from shipping multiple items in one box. If I order a carton of soft drink, book and bottle of shampoo fulfilled by Amazon it often comes in the

  • Rule of thumb: (Score:5, Informative)

    by locater16 ( 2326718 ) on Wednesday May 07, 2025 @06:39PM (#65360087)
    If they say it's going to replace workers, it doesn't work and won't replace anyone. If they say it won't replace workers, it works and will replace workers.

  • ... a robot that can 'feel' workers but won't replace items.

  • disappointing.

  • We need those workers to put tiny screws in tiny holes 10 hours a day.

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