FARK.com: (6636956) A warehouse of robots will soon be hunting down Sarah Connor, right after they finish sorting and restocking

		A warehouse of robots will soon be hunting down Sarah Connor, right after they finish sorting and restocking (youtube.com)		23
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1443 clicks; posted to Geek » on 12 Oct 2011 at 5:34 AM | Favorite | share:

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2wolves

2011-10-11 09:24:32 PM

Die Sarah Connor, die!

Sick of her and her offspring.

Coont needs to accept that evolution isn't constrained by DNA.

Twunt needs to die in a deep fat frier.

Flint Ironstag

2011-10-11 10:18:31 PM

These robots and the computer seemed to do all the work and just needed a human to lift something off a shelf and put it into a box. If you've automated that far why not just have a robot put the thing in the box? Why need the human?

teto85

2011-10-11 10:56:57 PM

Coming to a Zappo's, Amazon, L.L. Bean, REI, Land's End and any other warehouse near you.

Then why charge so much for postage and packing?

Gotta buy the expensive robots, right.

DarkJohnson

2011-10-11 11:23:28 PM

They took our jobs!! (and gave them to rowbutts)

fickle floridian

2011-10-12 12:17:46 AM

Hasta la vista, Roomba!

Makh

2011-10-12 12:57:48 AM

calbert

2011-10-12 01:03:03 AM

the sad truth is that if you introduce a human anywhere in the process, you exponentially increase the odds of the end result being f*cked up.

even if it's just the 1 person who has to come in and flip a switch to turn everything on, that dipwad has just ensured that the box will contain Nilla Wafers when I ordered hip waders.

leehouse

2011-10-12 02:15:08 AM

Flint Ironstag: These robots and the computer seemed to do all the work and just needed a human to lift something off a shelf and put it into a box. If you've automated that far why not just have a robot put the thing in the box? Why need the human?

My understanding, and it could be flawed, is that in the setup things are stored in such a myriad of configurations and potentially at odd angles, different shaped boxes, different sized boxes, bags instead of boxes, etc. that a human is currently better suited to the task. Now, if it were all boxes of a uniform size, shape, etc.then I'd completely agree.

cryophile

2011-10-12 06:18:29 AM

DarkJohnson: They took our jobs!! (and gave them to rowbutts)

As someone who is jobless, I am getting a kick out of your comment.

vegasj

2011-10-12 06:50:34 AM

Looks cool, seems cool, works awesome...

as long as the dick knobs who stack the shelves follow instructions and put stuff where they need to go from the start.

Must be done right from the start or it will never work. Good luck getting low paying people these days to follow those instructions!

rdu_voyager

2011-10-12 06:59:26 AM

If you mix a Kiva system with an Adept system, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6KW8fIBjr8 (pops), you would only need a person to flip the on switch.

The pick and place could be used to restock shelves as well. Just open the box, dump it on a conveyor and the PnP would stack it neater than any person could.

Quantum Apostrophe

2011-10-12 07:57:36 AM

hubiestubert

2011-10-12 08:38:41 AM

Having done warehouse work, a bit of automation might seem to be a good thing. Until you actually get out onto the floor. So long as everything goes right, everything is loaded onto the right pallets, everything is loaded into the right slot, then you're going to be fine. The moment things are NOT packed onto the right pallet--either a mistake by the backloaders, a mistake in delivery, a mistake in programming the slot--then you're going to see some hinkeyness. Not to mention, actually picking orders for clients. Large orders? Fantastic--because the cubage is going to be fairly easy to calculate and distribute. Smaller orders? Then it becomes a slightly different matter--how you build pallets is often a matter of calculating your load, and that is an intuitive sort of thing based on not just stability, but also with what complies with health code and knowing the inherent properties of the cases themselves. Some cases don't play well with others. Selectors are paid to know those differences, and while it seems like a goofy job, picking boxes, it's a bit harder than just picking them up and putting them down.

There are things that can be worked out, I'm sure, but you'd better have a dock boss inspecting each load, and be ready for misspicks on a massive scale if there is a mistake in what is loaded, that an experienced selector will know the difference in...

bookman

2011-10-12 09:28:48 AM

teto85: Coming to a Zappo's, Amazon, L.L. Bean, REI, Land's End and any other warehouse near you.

Then why charge so much for postage and packing?

Gotta buy the expensive robots, right.

Estimated minimal cost (Honda isn't saying) of Asimo development since 1986: $250,000,000. That's a lot of sunk cost that has to be recouped. Why yes, they ARE indeed expensive.

Basic Econ 101....

Gleeman

2011-10-12 10:17:48 AM

And people wonder why there are fewer and fewer jobs?

/Still neat tech

Loomy

2011-10-12 10:23:34 AM

Gleeman: And people wonder why there are fewer and fewer jobs?

/Still neat tech

Yes, but soon, all the life-sustaining work will be automated, so we'll all be able to spend our days in leisure. Just think: your whole life (30 long years!), spent completely at your leisure.

/Renew! Renew! Renew!

dai the flu

2011-10-12 11:02:33 AM

As a stock-hand, this bothers me a little. Not because these neat little bots (and they are cool) would probably take away jobs from my work (in fact; certainly- my employer would surmise that the bots save 10% of time, and then take away 15% of the roster budget), but because they would make me and everyone else lazy. Now that I'm studying full time, the closest thing I get to exercise is walking around trying to find stuff at work, and then carrying it across the store once I've found it.

hogans

2011-10-12 11:37:35 AM

It's an interesting idea, but I see a few potential flaws:

1. OSHA probably won't like the idea of workers being able to walk among the robots, and getting crushed between them in the process.
2. The shelves can't be built too high, otherwise they might tip over. Larger robots would lead to rule 1 issues, so that's out. Many warehouses have shelves 20-40 feet up, accessible only by forklift, for land use efficiency.
3. What sort of failure recovery do they have? If a robot breaks down, can another one kick it out of the way to take its shelves to its destination? If a ceiling camera fails, is there a redundant camera to take over, or is that portion of the floor the disabled until repaired?

I find it interesting that there are many electronic inventory solution companies within an hour's drive of Woburn, MA (I've been to a couple myself; they make tools for helping pickers get to the next bin faster). I wonder if there are other places with so many companies competing for the same business?

StoPPeRmobile

2011-10-12 12:30:16 PM

hogans: It's an interesting idea, but I see a few potential flaws:

1. OSHA probably won't like the idea of workers being able to walk among the robots, and getting crushed between them in the process.
2. The shelves can't be built too high, otherwise they might tip over. Larger robots would lead to rule 1 issues, so that's out. Many warehouses have shelves 20-40 feet up, accessible only by forklift, for land use efficiency.
3. What sort of failure recovery do they have? If a robot breaks down, can another one kick it out of the way to take its shelves to its destination? If a ceiling camera fails, is there a redundant camera to take over, or is that portion of the floor the disabled until repaired?

I find it interesting that there are many electronic inventory solution companies within an hour's drive of Woburn, MA (I've been to a couple myself; they make tools for helping pickers get to the next bin faster). I wonder if there are other places with so many companies competing for the same business?

You should visit an industrial laundry facility.

God--

2011-10-12 04:20:29 PM

bullocks

2011-10-12 07:14:16 PM

All ur jobs r belong to us.

DVDave

2011-10-13 02:24:20 PM

2wolves: Die Sarah Connor, die!

Sick of her and her offspring.

Coont needs to accept that evolution isn't constrained by DNA.

Twunt needs to die in a deep fat frier.

Except, all she has to do is step off the floor grid and they'll never catch her.

Beowoolfie

2011-10-14 12:19:51 AM

hubiestubert: Having done warehouse work, a bit of automation might seem to be a good thing. Until you actually get out onto the floor. So long as everything goes right, everything is loaded onto the right pallets, everything is loaded into the right slot, then you're going to be fine. The moment things are NOT packed onto the right pallet--either a mistake by the backloaders, a mistake in delivery, a mistake in programming the slot--then you're going to see some hinkeyness. Not to mention, actually picking orders for clients. Large orders? Fantastic--because the cubage is going to be fairly easy to calculate and distribute. Smaller orders? Then it becomes a slightly different matter--how you build pallets is often a matter of calculating your load, and that is an intuitive sort of thing based on not just stability, but also with what complies with health code and knowing the inherent properties of the cases themselves. Some cases don't play well with others. Selectors are paid to know those differences, and while it seems like a goofy job, picking boxes, it's a bit harder than just picking them up and putting them down.

There are things that can be worked out, I'm sure, but you'd better have a dock boss inspecting each load, and be ready for misspicks on a massive scale if there is a mistake in what is loaded, that an experienced selector will know the difference in...

I'm impressed. I've looked into those Kiva warehouse robots before. They had a video where they explained what gets automated and what still uses human beings, and IIRC you nailed it. Yes, they use people, greatly assisted by technology, to do those steps.

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