In a recent episode of The Robot Report Podcast, Giovanni Campanella from Texas Instruments shared some memorable insights on robotics automation. He joined the conversation following the 2025 Robotics Summit and Expo in Boston—a gathering where fresh, hands-on innovations were truly on display.
One standout from the event was Amazon’s new robot, Vulcan. With its advanced tactile sensing—powered by force feedback sensors and artificial intelligence—Vulcan delivers a level of precision and dexterity that’s hard to beat. According to Amazon, Vulcan is capable of handling roughly 75% of warehouse inventory, operating at speeds that closely echo human efficiency. Aaron Parness from Amazon Robotics even highlighted how tactile sensing sets the stage for smarter, more responsive robotic applications.
Amazon isn’t new to robotics. Its existing systems, like the Sparrow robot that picks items from the top of tote layers, demonstrate robust performance, though they don’t match Vulcan’s tactile finesse. Similarly, the Cardinal robot is geared toward optimising cart loads, and there’s every chance it could benefit from future upgrades that incorporate similar sensor technology.
Further afield, shifts at Teradyne mark an interesting turn in the industry. Jean-Pierre Hathout now leads Universal Robots while Kevin Dumas is steering Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR). These leadership changes come as the International Federation of Robotics reported a 10.7% increase in robotic installations in the U.S. automotive sector in 2024. Strikingly, U.S. automotive sales dropped by 15% over the same period—a reminder that investment in automation doesn’t always equate to market growth.
Globally, while the U.S. ranks fifth for robot-to-worker ratios behind tech heavyweights such as Japan and Germany, China is rapidly redefining manufacturing with a high density of robotics. On the business front, even though Teradyne’s recent financial report shows a decline in robotics revenue, the company continues to push ahead, enhancing its AI product line with innovations like the MiR 1200 Pallet Jack and UR AI Accelerator.
