If I were a young warehouse worker, I'd wonder how much longer I'd have my job.
HOLY CRAP! ROBOT APOCALYPSE!!!
(damn cool. where are we getting all the electricity?)
Jesus is going to be really pissed about this.
Yeah, and we ain't see nuthin yet!
But, impressed as I am by the ability to ballance, overcome obstacles etc these devices are still lacking autonomy. There ain't no intelligence . . . Yet.
I think robot pickers have been done - fairly easy to send a bot to aisle 100, bay 99, shelf 12, location 1, seek and recognise a bar code, call up the dimension and weight, check the actual position . . . . .
But with the advent of things like face recognition and other "subtle skills" there are possibilities that might be a tad scary. Enough miniaturisation, enough "subtle skills" and a kind of pseudo-intelligence might be evident.
Then you have to get enough energy in the picture- a whole other story.
Quote from: joeactor on March 02, 2017, 01:10:20 AM
HOLY CRAP! ROBOT APOCALYPSE!!!
(damn cool. where are we getting all the electricity?)
From the video description:
QuoteHandle is a research robot that stands 6.5 ft tall, travels at 9 mph and jumps 4 feet vertically. It uses electric power to operate both electric and hydraulic actuators, with a range of about 15 miles on one battery charge.
I expect it uses lithium ion batteries. In one of the shots (the "endpoint control" exercise) you can see the thing connected to cords--I imagine that's to allow a direct computer interface.
Thinking (at 0530! ) I could see a scenario where a bot stands in an airport arrivals lounge scanning the arrivees for a face. Then approaching the arrivee it "wants", confirming, vocally, it is the correct person, leading them to a car then "driving" them to wherever.
I think that much technology possibly exists now.
Bit like the robot collecting the captain in Forbidden Planet!
Quote from: Gloucester on March 02, 2017, 05:42:23 AM
Thinking (at 0530! ) I could see a scenario where a bot stands in an airport arrivals lounge scanning the arrivees for a face. Then approaching the arrivee it "wants", confirming, vocally, it is the correct person, leading them to a car then "driving" them to wherever.
I think that much technology possibly exists now.
Bit like the robot collecting the captain in Forbidden Planet!
There goes the limo drivers; and uber could get in on that.
Quote from: Arturo on March 02, 2017, 05:59:28 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on March 02, 2017, 05:42:23 AM
Thinking (at 0530! ) I could see a scenario where a bot stands in an airport arrivals lounge scanning the arrivees for a face. Then approaching the arrivee it "wants", confirming, vocally, it is the correct person, leading them to a car then "driving" them to wherever.
I think that much technology possibly exists now.
Bit like the robot collecting the captain in Forbidden Planet!
There goes the link drivers, and uber could get in on that.
Yeah. Could even be programmed to ask inane questions about the flight with as much sincerity as a real taxi driver!
Quote from: Gloucester on March 02, 2017, 06:10:01 AM
Quote from: Arturo on March 02, 2017, 05:59:28 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on March 02, 2017, 05:42:23 AM
Thinking (at 0530! ) I could see a scenario where a bot stands in an airport arrivals lounge scanning the arrivees for a face. Then approaching the arrivee it "wants", confirming, vocally, it is the correct person, leading them to a car then "driving" them to wherever.
I think that much technology possibly exists now.
Bit like the robot collecting the captain in Forbidden Planet!
There goes the link drivers, and uber could get in on that.
Yeah. Could even be programmed to ask inane questions about the flight with as much sincerity as a real taxi driver!
:lol:
Automation is happening is all sorts of businesses you'd never think of. I work for a Fortune 500 company that happens to also be a pharmacy benefits manager. I work in the pharmacy proper. There are entire orders that are never touched by human hands once the drug is loaded into the automated labelers and fillers. We ship out around 70,000 orders a day - not individual vials, but orders from one vial up to 100 or more. We do it with about 300 people, quite a few who are various support personnel not directly related to the actual filling of the prescriptions.
Thinking further (now 0730 so slow with it :) ): giving a robot instructions to go from GPS location A to GPS location B via a hazard strewn, but possihle, forest path could well be achievable.
At first sight this seems no different to instructing a human, carrying a satnav, to do the same task.
Until a rampant bull moose, or other unprogrammed factor, gets into the game.
Quote from: Gloucester on March 02, 2017, 07:44:59 AM
Thinking further (now 0730 so slow with it :) ): giving a robot instructions to go from GPS location A to GPS location B via a hazard strewn, but possihle, forest path could well be achievable.
At first sight this seems no different to instructing a human, carrying a satnav, to do the same task.
Until a rampant bull moose, or other unprogrammed factor, gets into the game.
I think it is still much easier to tell a human to go to point A then a robot right now.
Quote from: Arturo on March 02, 2017, 08:03:59 AM
Quote from: Gloucester on March 02, 2017, 07:44:59 AM
Thinking further (now 0730 so slow with it :) ): giving a robot instructions to go from GPS location A to GPS location B via a hazard strewn, but possihle, forest path could well be achievable.
At first sight this seems no different to instructing a human, carrying a satnav, to do the same task.
Until a rampant bull moose, or other unprogrammed factor, gets into the game.
I think it is still much easier to tell a human to go to point A then a robot right now.
Yup, but there might be conditions that a robot could survive and a human could not. Flockbots with infra red sight might be useful for searching.
Horses for courses, but don't bet on a robot nag yet.
[Damn! Everytime I think I have found a neologism some one got there first. "Flockbots" is too obvious I suppise.]
The robot's capabilities in the video are awesome, especially the way it can navigate through multiple terrains, quite impressive.
Rod Sterling had a fairly decent take on the issue of automation and the replacement of human workers with machines. The following episode came out in 1964 (Year I was born) and clearly raises some valid points.
Worth watching.
Description of episode
here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brain_Center_at_Whipple's).
That robot is pretty amazing, and I think..... yep, .... I think i see a tiny glimmer of a soul in there.
Everything looks good except the actual handling of goods.
Quote from: Davin on March 02, 2017, 03:48:03 PM
Everything looks good except the actual handling of goods.
Haha, I thought the same...probably would need to design a tote specific for the robot to handle, seems like the one thing they overlooked.
At some point only highly educated/trained/talented people will have anything to do, and they will control everything. We won't need unskilled or low-skilled labor.
I was not sure about a 100lb load in that crate, looked like plastic. Would such a lattice crate take that weight without distorting?
But, still gotta admit I am impressed with the balance acheived,
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 02, 2017, 05:12:04 PM
At some point only highly educated/trained/talented people will have anything to do, and they will control everything. We won't need unskilled or low-skilled labor.
Awesome opportunity right here for an excellent lawyer joke, but I promised to be nice during lent. 8)
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 02, 2017, 05:12:04 PM
At some point only highly educated/trained/talented people will have anything to do, and they will control everything. We won't need unskilled or low-skilled labor.
For the moment the Chinese have enough people to keep occupied it is not worth their while going fully auto. After making enquiries about the spec of a device I was offered it up to quantities of 10 000 per month, with a one month lead and 75% discount for that quantity. I did a little research into the company, they emploedy up to 20 000 people, in huge dormitories for the country kids flocking to town for work, on their main manufacturing site. With special features to reduce the suicide incidence.
That
was some years ago, wonder if it has changed.
Edit: I conflated two stories, the suicide one was at Foxconn, then Apple's manufacturer of choice.
Quote from: Father Bruno on March 02, 2017, 05:32:31 PM
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 02, 2017, 05:12:04 PM
At some point only highly educated/trained/talented people will have anything to do, and they will control everything. We won't need unskilled or low-skilled labor.
Awesome opportunity right here for an excellent lawyer joke, but I promised to be nice during lent. 8)
I absolve thee of all sin, therefore you may state your joke, my son.
I am reading Velmas description of her facility and its level of automation. Then I am thinking....buzz whirr, buzz, whirr, and I see political overtones. Our new Prez is going to bring back jobs, Right. A principle reason for job loss is automation. Which makes me think of the Luddites that destroyed machinery that took their jobs....buzz, whirr....etc.
Quote from: Icarus on March 02, 2017, 09:55:21 PM
I am reading Velmas description of her facility and its level of automation. Then I am thinking....buzz whirr, buzz, whirr, and I see political overtones. Our new Prez is going to bring back jobs, Right. A principle reason for job loss is automation. Which makes me think of the Luddites that destroyed machinery that took their jobs....buzz, whirr....etc.
Not to mention the French saboteurs who committed sabotage, put the boot in, by chucking their sabots into the machinery to clog it up...
Now they will just hack it, imagine a factory full of "insane" robots!
Bring back the jobs and give them to robots herp derp.
American Conservatives are trying to stand rigid against a changing world. That makes us fragile, not strong. If they really wanted to support American jobs, they'd spend money to educate the people and to support the sciences.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 02, 2017, 09:02:31 PM
Quote from: Father Bruno on March 02, 2017, 05:32:31 PM
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 02, 2017, 05:12:04 PM
At some point only highly educated/trained/talented people will have anything to do, and they will control everything. We won't need unskilled or low-skilled labor.
Awesome opportunity right here for an excellent lawyer joke, but I promised to be nice during lent. 8)
I absolve thee of all sin, therefore you may state your joke, my son.
Thank you for absolution, but it won't be as funny now as the window of spontaneity has been shut, however. I will keep this for use a a later date, sort of a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. 8)
Quote from: Davin on March 03, 2017, 02:11:55 PM
American Conservatives are trying to stand rigid against a changing world. That makes us fragile, not strong. If they really wanted to support American jobs, they'd spend money to educate the people and to support the sciences.
If they get a big enough pay check, they will do what ever their corporate masters want and promise (lie) to give what their voters tell them to do.
Thinking about jobs for people ..... When the Industrial Revolution occurred and mechinisation in all fields began and jobs disappeared it was hard to see what people would find to do. Everything advanced and jobs appeared though of a different sort. Maybe when robots take over it will be the same ??????
Quote from: Lark on March 11, 2017, 02:05:00 PM
Thinking about jobs for people ..... When the Industrial Revolution occurred and mechinisation in all fields began and jobs disappeared it was hard to see what people would find to do. Everything advanced and jobs appeared though of a different sort. Maybe when robots take over it will be the same ??????
Seems it may be that the trend is still that way:
Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed, says 140 years of data (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/aug/17/technology-created-more-jobs-than-destroyed-140-years-data-census)
The trick is to give the kids the skills and knowledge they will need
tomorrow, not those of yesterday. But I fear that there is far to much "traditional" teaching going on.
Though, reading the article more carefully, it seens that we might be getting into tge same problem as the Golfafrinchabs:
QuoteThe Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B was a way of removing the basically useless citizens from the planet of Golgafrincham. A variety of stories were formed about the doom of the planet, such as blowing up, crashing into the sun or being eaten by a mutant stargoat. The ship was filled with all the middlemen of Golgafrincham, such as the telephone sanitisers, account executives, hair dressers, tired TV producers, insurance salesmen, personnel officers, security guards, public relations executives and management consultants.
Ark Fleet ships A and C were supposed to carry the people who ruled, thought, or actually did useful work.
The ship was programmed to crash onto its designated planet, Earth. The captain remember [sic ]that he was told a good reason for this, but had forgotten it, although the reason was later revealed to be because the Ark Ship B Golgafrinchans were a 'bunch of useless idiots'.
Quote from: Davin on March 03, 2017, 02:11:55 PM
American Conservatives are trying to stand rigid against a changing world. That makes us fragile, not strong. If they really wanted to support American jobs, they'd spend money to educate the people and to support the sciences.
:this:
Conservatism in this sense just doesn't make any sense.
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on March 13, 2017, 08:35:53 PM
Quote from: Davin on March 03, 2017, 02:11:55 PM
American Conservatives are trying to stand rigid against a changing world. That makes us fragile, not strong. If they really wanted to support American jobs, they'd spend money to educate the people and to support the sciences.
:this:
Conservatism in this sense just doesn't make any sense.
Here, here!
:thumbsup:
Conservatism too easily becomes stagnation - a lack of progress.