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Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

spectrum.ieee.org

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Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#111

Post by withinboredom »

immibis wrote: post #91
omneity wrote: post #2

Warehouses is definitely not where I expected robots with retractable blades to first appear. The demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWXco05eK28

This feels like a silly way to do things. Why are they storing arbitrary cuboid items in fixed-size boxes? If they designed the warehouse for maximum robot efficiency, doesn't it seem more sensible, on first glance, to have stacks of the same item in a regular grid accessed from the top, instead of optimizing how to pack wildly different items in the same box?

From working on warehouse picking software way before there were robots ... it's because humans. It would take longer for a human to find space in the right space -- or instead, be lazy and forcibly put an item in a space it barely fits -- than to simply dump it into an arbitrary box with enough space and record the box. Then when deciding the path for the picker to pick items from, there's a high chance one of the purchased items is actually nearby other purchased items.

Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#112

Post by rahimnathwani »

raisedbyninjas wrote: post #61
omneity wrote: post #2

Warehouses is definitely not where I expected robots with retractable blades to first appear. The demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWXco05eK28

It appears this bot could be about 100 times simpler if they just had storage racks with smaller cubbies at the modest expense of usable storage volume. 1 item per cubbie.

That would be a huge expense. You would either waste a lot of space in each one, or have the robot waste time finding one that's the optimal size.

Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#113

Post by nancyminusone »

elzbardico wrote: post #52

Why do we think this is a good thing without socialism? I am not a fan of socialism, but with the level of automation we are reaching, do we really want to be ruled by our incel tech-bro overlords, living out of UBI, in a permanently bi-strated society without even the illusion of social mobility and democracy we have nowadays?

Social system aside, I'd say being a human worker mindlessly shoving boxes into other boxes all day is no fit way to live.

Just like how it was bad to have kids crawling around in the textile factories back in the day.

Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#114

Post by krapp »

elzbardico wrote: post #52

Why do we think this is a good thing without socialism? I am not a fan of socialism, but with the level of automation we are reaching, do we really want to be ruled by our incel tech-bro overlords, living out of UBI, in a permanently bi-strated society without even the illusion of social mobility and democracy we have nowadays?

Who is "we?"

The people making the decisions to replace their workforce with AI and automation are doing so to maximize their profits, not to improve society or the quality of any life but their own.

Assuming you aren't a member of the capitalist class, and thus complicit, you don't have a say in the matter. They aren't putting the future they're implementing up to a vote. They don't care if you want it. They don't care if you die in the street like a dog.

Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#117

Post by LoganDark »

bluGill wrote: post #57
LoganDark wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you read the article? "The fastest humans at this task are like Olympic athletes. They’re far faster than the robots, and they’re able to store items in pods at much higher densities."

Compare to a doctor who needs nearly a decade of special training. Or an engineer who needs a complex university training program. Yes some are better than others. However there is still a vast gulf in skill between those people than engineers (much less doctors), while the gap between them and someone off the street is much less. (the article doesn't say how long it takes someone to get to that high skilled state or…

If your point is that experience is not necessarily skill, I suppose that's fair, but in that case skill does not always tell the full story.

Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#118

Post by DrillShopper »

warrenmiller wrote: post #65
DrillShopper wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For now. Wait until LLMs get better and destroy the ability for junior developers to get their foot in the door.

How do you get senior developers if you replace the junior developers?

That's the neat part - you don't.

(The suits think that's a good thing)

Re: Amazon's Vulcan Robots Now Stow Items Faster Than Humans

#119

Post by Melonai »

masom wrote: post #101
LeonB wrote: post #46

This isn’t the factory of the future. The factory of the future will have only two employees, one human and one dog. - The human feeds the dog. - The dog makes sure no one touches the equipment. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2022/01/30/future-factory/

https://www.amazon.com/Dokoo-Automatic-Vacuum-Sealed-Dispens... No need for a human to feed the dog, a robot will refill the dog feeder.

But what if the dog gets sad? :(

I think the solution might be multiple dogs.

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