Amazon arms UK warehouses with its new robot ‘Vulcan’
Amazon has unveiled its most advanced robot to date – a machine that can sense touch – in a move aimed to alter how its warehouses are staffed and operated.
The robot, dubbed Vulcan, was announced today at Amazon’s ‘Delivering the Future’ event in Dortmund, Germany. It is designed to replicate one of the most human skills: dexterity.
Unlike traditional warehouse bots that rely on vision and suction, Amazon has claimed that Vulcan is able to physically ‘feel’ its surroundings using sensors and force feedback.
This allows it to pick, move, and sort items in densely packed storage compartments—a task previously considered out of reach for industrial robots.
Amazon says Vulcan is already working in fulfilment centres in the US and Germany and will soon be deployed to UK sites as part of a wider European expansion.
The first UK locations are expected to integrate the technology in 2025.
What the robot can, and can’t do
Vulcan’s sense of touch comes via a set of paddle-like grippers equipped with sensors.
These let the robot gently push and reposition items inside compartments without crushing or misplacing them.
Aaron Parness, director of applied science at Amazon robotics told City AM: « We vary the grasp force based on the item’s attributes and use built-in conveyor belts to smoothly place that item into the bin. »
A suction arm with an AI-enabled camera then identifies and retrieves the correct product, avoiding errors like grabbing multiple items at once – a problem known as “co-extraction.”
Amazon says the robot has been trained on thousands of real-world objects, from socks to electronics, and can adapt its grip to different shapes, weights and textures.
It even learns from its own failures – a form of physical AI designed to mimic how humans develop motor skills over time.
Parness calls it “a technology that three years ago seemed impossible but is now set to transform our operations.”
Are jobs at Amazon at risk?
The tech giant claims the robot is designed not to replace workers but to assist them, especially with physically taxing roles such as reaching items stored eight feet high or bending to floor level.
Parness added: “Vulcan works alongside our employees, and the combination is better than either on their own. For our associates, this means less time spent on physically demanding tasks… and more opportunity to focus on human tasks like reasoning and problem solving”.
However, as automation becomes increasingly capable of doing “human” tasks, the move is likely to reignite debate about the impact of robotics on employment in the UK logistics sector.
Amazon says Vulcan can currently handle around 75 per cent of the millions of products the company sells.
When it encounters an item it can’t manage, it calls in a human worker to complete the task – but that 25 per cent gap is expected to narrow as the robot continues learning.
The UK is one of Amazon’s largest global markets, with over 75,000 employees across fulfilment centres, delivery hubs, and corporate offices.
While many of those roles have been created thanks to Amazon’s logistics footprint, the company has also faced criticism from unions and labour advocates over working conditions and job displacement risks posed by increasing automation.
According to a 2024 report by the Centre for Cities, nearly one in three logistics jobs in the UK will be at risk of automation by 2030.
Amazon insists that the technology will lead to safer workplaces and upskilling opportunities, noting that it has created “hundreds of new categories of jobs” as robots take on repetitive or injury-prone tasks.
The firm also pointed to its ‘career choice’ programme, which offers workers pathways into technical roles, including robotics maintenance and AI operations.
“Carrie (a head of operations at Amazon) told me that since Vulcan took over handling items on those top shelves, her team has experienced fewer strains and can focus on more engaging tasks”. Parness said.
“She even mentioned how several of her colleagues had taken an interest in technology and transitioned into roles supporting the equipment”.
Wider rollout
Amazon plans to scale up the use of Vulcan across fulfilment centres in Europe and the US over the next two years, with UK sites expected to be part of the rollout.
“This is Amazon’s first robot with a sense of touch”, said Parness.
The robot joins a growing arsenal of machines, including Sparrow, Proteus, and Robin, all designed to increase efficiency across Amazon’s supply chain.
With pressure mounting to speed up deliveries while lowering operational costs, Vulcan may prove a pivotal step – but also a contentious one, as the UK logistics industry grapples with its future in an era of intelligent machines.