4 ms·

Eventually they will need a solution which can grip boxes more like a human (especially being able to adjust grip to handle boxes that begin to deform). This o

by blunte 6y ago

Eventually they will need a solution which can grip boxes more like a human (especially being able to adjust grip to handle boxes that begin to deform). This one-side suction system will obviously fail if the box itself cannot hold its contents without ripping or deforming. I would rather see the robot get better than we start using bigger boxes with lighter loads just to make it easier for the robots. I already receive too-big boxes and too much paper packing stuffing.

derefr 6y ago
You don’t need bigger last-mile boxes. They could just “wrap” each item (or many items of the same SKU) in a reusable transport bin for its lifetime in the warehouse; move the bins themselves around; and then pick the items out of the bin (or invert the bin right over a final shipping box) when they leave.
curryst 6y ago
This is almost inevitable. The current situation is designed for humans. The boxes generally hold together; the number that fail either structurally (deformed) or catastrophically (contents destroyed) is probably within some tolerance. Deformed boxes cost basically nothing with humans. These robots appear to have a gentler touch than what I'm guessing humans do, based on the health of the cardboard I receive from humans. They might make it feasible to create re-usable plastic boxes that have some kind of an anchor point. I've got a friend that works in the field and have seen their machines in operation and how they work on their contracts. The use cases right now seem to be entirely human defined; i.e. it handles items that weren't modified to make it easier on the robot, and it handles items in a random orientation. Could be turned, could be upside down, could be balanced on a corner against another item. If robots take over more of the pipeline, you can start guaranteeing that boxes are oriented correctly, which gives you a lot more practical options than "cover it in hooks, and we'll worry about how to stack it later". Space in containers is also a big concern, so anything that increases the size of a good is generally bad (last-mile delivery excepted).
- blunte 6y ago
  Presumably we'll see (or not see, but it will happen) improvements in all steps of the process of packing, sending, and delivering goods. This is a... good thing. And perhaps with more automation and logistics improvements, reusable last-mile containers can become common. We already receive our one of our grocery deliveries in foldable crates which get re-used (one set always sitting empty at home, and traded to the delivery driver for crates with new groceries). There's a lot of room for improvement here.

by blunte 6y ago

derefr 6y ago

You don’t need bigger last-mile boxes. They could just “wrap” each item (or many items of the same SKU) in a reusable transport bin for its lifetime in the warehouse; move the bins themselves around; and then pick the items out of the bin (or invert the bin right over a final shipping box) when they leave.

curryst 6y ago

This is almost inevitable. The current situation is designed for humans. The boxes generally hold together; the number that fail either structurally (deformed) or catastrophically (contents destroyed) is probably within some tolerance. Deformed boxes cost basically nothing with humans. These robots appear to have a gentler touch than what I'm guessing humans do, based on the health of the cardboard I receive from humans. They might make it feasible to create re-usable plastic boxes that have some kind of an anchor point. I've got a friend that works in the field and have seen their machines in operation and how they work on their contracts. The use cases right now seem to be entirely human defined; i.e. it handles items that weren't modified to make it easier on the robot, and it handles items in a random orientation. Could be turned, could be upside down, could be balanced on a corner against another item. If robots take over more of the pipeline, you can start guaranteeing that boxes are oriented correctly, which gives you a lot more practical options than "cover it in hooks, and we'll worry about how to stack it later". Space in containers is also a big concern, so anything that increases the size of a good is generally bad (last-mile delivery excepted).

blunte 6y ago
Presumably we'll see (or not see, but it will happen) improvements in all steps of the process of packing, sending, and delivering goods. This is a... good thing. And perhaps with more automation and logistics improvements, reusable last-mile containers can become common. We already receive our one of our grocery deliveries in foldable crates which get re-used (one set always sitting empty at home, and traded to the delivery driver for crates with new groceries). There's a lot of room for improvement here.