Amazon has unveiled a whole host of innovations in London regarding how it applies robotics to its logistics operations. The company aims to bring the latest innovations in fields like AI to this area, allowing it to accelerate and improve the profitability of operations related to receiving, sorting, and handling packages within its facilities. These new robots are part of a company plan to invest more than €10 billion in European distribution centers and increase its workforce by 25,000 people in the coming years, also boosting positions related to maintenance and engineering. From Orange Roombas to Robotic AI A long, long time ago (2012), in a far, far away place (California), Amazon first deployed Kiva Robots, devices that looked like orange Roombas on steroids. Those robots were so striking, and they so drastically changed the traditional concept of warehouse management, that their image quickly went viral, generating wonderfully astonishing videos like this waltz, or this dance set to music from The Nutcracker, recorded when Kiva was still an independent company from the eCommerce giant. Since then, the robotic technology that Amazon uses in its logistics centers has evolved considerably, incorporating the latest technological advances and, of course, AI. Over the years, we've talked to you on numerous occasions about Amazon's entire team of robots, including Proteus, its first mobile robotic unit, which included computer vision and machine learning. Since then, Amazon has developed, produced, and deployed more than a million robots across its network of operations. Now, it has just unveiled the new generation of Proteus, and it's straight out of a science fiction movie. A Green, Autonomous, and Intelligent Platform At first glance, the new Proteus has features quite reminiscent of the first Kiva Robots, but it's green, slightly wider, and barely 20 centimeters tall. It also has something like a mouth and super cute little eyes capable of "smiling." Oh, and it's smarter. Much smarter. According to Amazon, its warehouse employees will be able to direct Proteus naturally, using simple, conversational language, as if they were talking to a human colleague, without technical commands or a programming interface. "The employee tells it what to do, and the robot takes care of the rest," the company explains. In any case, the new Proteus will have much greater autonomy than its predecessor. Until now, the original Proteus worked in loading and unloading areas, transporting heavy loads of up to 400 kilos. However, the new generation of Proteus can operate “anywhere items need to be moved. This includes transporting containers upon arrival, transferring them between workstations, and assisting employees in Amazon's distribution centers and delivery points.” And all of this autonomously. Operators simply tell Proteus what needs to be done, and the robot determines the best route (including long distances within the logistics centers), prioritizes the task, and chooses the most appropriate time to perform it. Other mobile robots used by Amazon and other companies for warehouse operations follow lines of stickers on the floor to guide them, in areas surrounded by fences to keep robots and people separate. However, the new Proteus doesn't need any of this, thanks to sensors that allow it to know where to move and stop quickly if something gets too close.