Amazon is preparing to expand the use of robotics across its European fulfillment network as part of a planned investment of more than €10 billion in the region over the next several years. The company introduced a next-generation version of Proteus, its autonomous mobile robot, at an event in London. The system is designed to move items across fulfillment centers and delivery sites and to respond to employee instructions given in natural language.
The original Proteus is used in dock areas at 25 fulfillment centers in the United States, where it transports heavy carts that can weigh close to 400 kilograms. The new version is intended to operate in a wider range of areas within Amazon sites, including moving containers as they arrive, transferring them between workstations and assisting with material movement across fulfillment and delivery operations.
Amazon said the next-generation Proteus uses artificial intelligence to interpret conversational prompts from employees, allowing staff to assign tasks without technical commands or a programming interface. The company said the robot is being piloted in its labs, with deployment in Europe planned for the first half of 2027.
“You tell it what needs to be done. It figures out the priority, the route, the timing,” said Scott Dresser, vice president of Amazon Robotics. “It becomes your assistant for material movement.”
Amazon is also expanding other robotics systems in Europe, including Vulcan and STARK. Vulcan, described by the company as its first robotic system with a sense of touch, uses sensors to see and feel objects while performing picking and stowing tasks. The system was originally developed for a facility in Spokane, Washington, and has been expanded to Amazon’s Hamburg facility in Germany.
STARK is a collaborative robotic tote-handling system designed to pick full totes from conveyors and place them on carts. Amazon said the system was first piloted in Barcelona and is planned for expansion to 15 sites across Europe by 2027.
The robotics expansion is part of Amazon’s broader plan to modernize its European fulfillment operations. The company said it plans to increase its European fulfillment center workforce by 25,000 roles in the coming years, including jobs linked to reliability, maintenance and engineering.
“This transformation is designed to deliver a step-change in how we support our employees and serve our customers,” said Armin Cossmann, vice president of operations for Europe. “Customer expectations aren’t slowing down—and neither are we.”
Dresser said Europe would be central to Amazon’s future operations strategy. “The investment we’re making here, the talent we’re building with here, the technology we’re deploying here—this is where the next chapter of operations innovation is being written,”
