On June 22nd, 2022, Amazon announced that it has developed its first "fully autonomous mobile robot." The robot is named Proteus, and its purpose is to move large carts around Amazon's warehouses. The company says that Proteus can safely navagate around human beings as it maneuvers the carts into their assigned locations. Proteus is part of Amazon's plan to automate the handling of GoCarts so that human employees no longer have to handle heavy packages.
According to Amazon, Proteus will achieve its assignments through the use of what they are calling, advanced safety, perception, and navagation technology. The robot moves to a cart that is to be moved and slides underneath it. It then shines a green light out ahead of it. If as it travels, it encounters a human being, it will stop and only resume on its path when the human is no longer there. Amazon intends to use Proteus in its fullfillment centers, but has not givn a date for the robot's deployment.
