If by over-engineered you mean the way the machine worked seems to be overcomplicated and likely to break often, that was my immediate reaction as well. Surely

If by over-engineered you mean the way the machine worked seems to be overcomplicated and likely to break often, that was my immediate reaction as well. Surely a simpler mechanism could be developed! This is our naïve view though, perhaps simplification is not so easy or cost effective, if it is possible at all. I think other replies to your post have taken over-engineered to mean that the task is best accomplished by a human. That I wouldn't agree with, as cone deployment and collection is dangerous, sucky work. Then again depending on your view on self-driving vehicles, how much of a lifetime would any solution in this space really have?