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Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

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Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#41

Post by mason240 »

oldmanjay wrote: post #39
compostor42 wrote: post #36

Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks. We will be struggling to keep our existing population employed. The last thing we want to do is import even more low-skilled labor who will soon be made redundant. Increasing automation means a declining population is a godsend rather than a problem. Policy makers must be aware of this. I suspect the call for incr…

The calls for restricted immigration are certainly politically motivated (mainly variations on "I don't want them getting mine") so what's the difference? National borders mean less and less all the time. Clinging to them to weather this upcoming economic storm is like using an anchor as a liferaft.

Almost no one in the US is calling for restrictions on immigration.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#42

Post by BuckRogers »

compostor42 wrote: post #36

Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks. We will be struggling to keep our existing population employed. The last thing we want to do is import even more low-skilled labor who will soon be made redundant. Increasing automation means a declining population is a godsend rather than a problem. Policy makers must be aware of this. I suspect the call for incr…

You had me agreeing until the part about the NRA base going down with increased immigration. Now I'm all for it.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#43

Post by scrollaway »

compostor42 wrote: post #36

Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks. We will be struggling to keep our existing population employed. The last thing we want to do is import even more low-skilled labor who will soon be made redundant. Increasing automation means a declining population is a godsend rather than a problem. Policy makers must be aware of this. I suspect the call for incr…

> Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks.

This is a bit of a shortcut (and most don't realize it) to "more people doesn't necessarily mean less jobs to go around, as available work is not a finite product because of the amount of artificial demand an increased population can create".

We don't need more human drones; when properly funneled, increased immigration can mean a better economy.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#44

Post by fnordfnordfnord »

amelius wrote: post #2

I'm wondering what is so difficult about this task. I mean, all the "good" fruit looks almost the same, so recognizing it should be simple. Also, there's plenty of training material.

I used to develop food sorters. Color sorting is very simple in principle and much harder in practice. The main difficulties are good lighting, not shaking your cameras and optics to pieces and keeping the optics and lights clean.

For fruit sorting in particular there is the very difficult task of conveying the fruit without damaging it. The best sorter in the world won't help you if it mangles the fruit.

In my old lab, there are solutions to most of the common food sorting problems, not all of those solutions make it out to the field though.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#45

Post by JoeAltmaier »

compostor42 wrote: post #36

Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks. We will be struggling to keep our existing population employed. The last thing we want to do is import even more low-skilled labor who will soon be made redundant. Increasing automation means a declining population is a godsend rather than a problem. Policy makers must be aware of this. I suspect the call for incr…

I think those numbers don't add up. Decreasing population does nothing for the per capita need for working-class people. Unless you think laborers are dying off at a greater rate than the rest of us.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#46

Post by masklinn »

amelius wrote: post #22
sageabilly wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fruit is not a uniform shape and it typically bruises easily so it can be difficult to design a robotic "hand" to consistently pick up fruit of irregular shape without bruising. This article from Gizmodo does a good job of explaining the difficulties involved: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/10/why-is-it-so-hard-for-robo...

Looking from those images, I think they are using the wrong kind of hand. A better hand would simply be a "vacuum cleaner" end, i.e., gripping the fruit by suction power. If it can't be gripped like that, it is probably not fruit that needs to be selected.

Suction would bruise anything but the hardiest and greenest apples, same as a hickey except now it rots all your fruits. Some fruits are already ridiculously sensible to bruising as it is (pears from the family orchards bruise if you look at them funny)

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#47

Post by scrollaway »

mason240 wrote: post #41
oldmanjay wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The calls for restricted immigration are certainly politically motivated (mainly variations on "I don't want them getting mine") so what's the difference? National borders mean less and less all the time. Clinging to them to weather this upcoming economic storm is like using an anchor as a liferaft.

Almost no one in the US is calling for restrictions on immigration.

Really now? No one? [edit: You added almost, I can almost agree now ;)]

Tougher border control is restrictions on immigration. Why do you think various billionaire nutjobs want to build a great wall of mexico?

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#48

Post by dalacv »

compostor42 wrote: post #36

Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks. We will be struggling to keep our existing population employed. The last thing we want to do is import even more low-skilled labor who will soon be made redundant. Increasing automation means a declining population is a godsend rather than a problem. Policy makers must be aware of this. I suspect the call for incr…

Import? We are not importing them. They migrate here because there is work. If there is no work, they won't come over here. It is basic supply and demand that is controlling this.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#49

Post by mason240 »

scrollaway wrote: post #47
mason240 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost no one in the US is calling for restrictions on immigration.

Really now? No one ? [edit: You added almost , I can almost agree now ;)] Tougher border control is restrictions on immigration. Why do you think various billionaire nutjobs want to build a great wall of mexico?

No, it's not. It's enforcing current immigration policies.

Moving towards an open borders would be changing restrictions on immigration.

Re: Fruit-sorting robot ‘will disrupt the industry’

#50

Post by acchow »

compostor42 wrote: post #36

Automation like this is why I call BS on the "we need more immigrants to keep the economy going!" folks. We will be struggling to keep our existing population employed. The last thing we want to do is import even more low-skilled labor who will soon be made redundant. Increasing automation means a declining population is a godsend rather than a problem. Policy makers must be aware of this. I suspect the call for incr…

What about the immigrants in high-skilled labor?

The recent calls for increased immigration are mostly about STEM-trained immigrants, are they not?

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