Meet Amazon's First Fully Autonomous Mobile Robot
Proteus is Amazon's first fully autonomous mobile robot. Historically, it’s been difficult to safely incorporate robotics where people are working in the same physical space as the robot. Amazon believes Proteus will change that while remaining smart, safe, and collaborative.
What is an AGV?
An Automated Guided Vehicle, or AGV, is an industrial vehicle that can be pre-programmed to transport goods in a warehouse or manufacturing environment.
Features of an AGV:
Navigation: Traditionally guided by magnetic strips or wires installed on or under a warehouse floor
Deployment: Requires installation of navigation guides, and sometimes requiring substantial facility renovation
Operational Flexibility: Altering AGV operating patterns requires repeating the entire deployment process
Responsiveness: Limited flexibility to adapt to changing environment or changing workflow
What is an AMR?
An Autonomous Mobile Robot, or AMR, is a vehicle that uses on-board sensors and processors to autonomously move materials without the need for physical guides or markers. It learns its environment, remembers its location, and dynamically plans its own path from one waypoint (a location or destination within the environment) to another.
Features of an AMR:
Navigation: Using technology such as LiDAR sensors & Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), an AMR will determine the best route between waypoints
Deployment: This can vary, but great AMRs can be unboxed and put to work in less than 15 minutes
Operational Flexibility: An AMR will dynamically plan the shortest path based on current conditions and requirements, if the work changes from one day to the next, the AMR’s route will change with it
Responsiveness: AMRs will automatically sense and avoid obstacles and blocked paths to find the best route to its next waypoint
