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And this is why logistics companies aren't replacing humans with robots very quickly. Simply put, robots today do not have the combination of speed, accuracy,
by mabbo 7y ago
And this is why logistics companies aren't replacing humans with robots very quickly.
Simply put, robots today do not have the combination of speed, accuracy, gentleness, strength and 'hand-eye' coordination needed to do simple tasks that a 6 year old could learn in minutes.
You want a 4 ton pallet lifted from spot A to spot B? There's a robot arm that can do that same task over and over flawlessly. You move that pallet 12 inches to the left and rotate it 10 degrees? Best case, it realizes it can't do it and stops trying. Worst case, you have 4 tons of probably-broken goods thrown all over the place.
There's always examples of specific subsets being done well- a robot that can grab and align parts quickly (so long as they don't overlap and they're the expected parts); a robot that can carefully reach into a cluttered container and grab just one item (but only one item per minute vs a human's 20); a robot that can carefully lift an egg without damaging it (provided the egg is within acceptable size and weight bounds).
You want the whole package of skills? For now, you need a human.
- tabtab 7y agoRe: "You move that pallet 12 inches to the left and rotate it 10 degrees? Best case, it realizes it can't do it and stops trying. Worst case, [chaos]" Maybe it only has to be 90% accurate. A remote-control human operator can help those who get stumped. Record the problem scenarios for later analysis to improve the next version. The bot will gradually improve, and human intervention will gradually shrink. This applies to cars also. Auto-cars can contact humans if stumped, such as lane closures or officers directing traffic. This includes both the passenger (if qualified) and remote-control operators. The bot will be conservative such "when it doubt, ask for help". As it learns to solve problems via experienced-based tuning (above), there will be fewer times it has to ask a human.