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Robot Printer Brings Documents To Your Desk
mrspoonsi sends this news from the BBC:
Fuji Xerox has developed a new robotic printer that can move around a lounge or office to bring documents to the person who printed them. The printer is designed to be used primarily in public places as a way to keep sensitive documents secure. Sensors on the machine prevent it from bumping into people on the way. However, some analysts argued that the idea was not cost effective when compared with other secure printing methods. Fuji Xerox — a joint venture between the two firms — has been testing the printer this month at a business lounge in Tokyo. Each desk in the lounge is given a unique web address from which to print. Users access the address and upload documents to be printed. Once the printer receives the job, it moves to the intended recipient who then has to display a smart card to activate printing.
Why not automatically scan the printed document and email it to the person?
When I was in the fifth grade (1982), I visited the Caterpillar International headquarters' IT center in East Peoria. For some damfool reason, they had a robotic mail carrier that followed a trail of chemicals laid down into the carpeting to wander around the floor, carrying mail and such.
This was before email, I guess, but no, I don't know why they had it either. It was boss, though.
- jon
Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
Getting up and stretching your legs is an integral part of my work day. Having a printer take away one more reason to do that would be counterproductive in my eyes.
" The printer is designed to be used primarily in public places as a way to keep sensitive documents secure"
Cue ridiculous thundering laughter.
People still print???? C'mon people, get over it!
Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
Give me something I can really use.
Like a mini fridge robot that brings me mountain dew so I dont have to walk 20 feet to the company break room.
Seriously people. Those engineers just aren't thinking outside the box.
-- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
Even less movement possible in office environment. Soon there will be robots to deliver coffee and spoon-feed office workers...
And here I was joking about printers following you around when follow-you printing was installed in my office...
Sears had a robot mail cart on each floor at the Sears tower following a chemical trail too.
From TFS:
Once the printer receives the job, it moves to the intended recipient who then has to display a smart card to activate printing.
So, instead of:
- send my job to the printer
- walk all of 10 feet to pick it up,
I now have to:
- send the print job
- wait for the printer to finish with the last person
- wait for the printer to get to my desk from $deity-knows-where in the building (and it's a big fucking building)
- wave some card at the printer
- wait for the printer to finish and go away.
Talk about "technology for technology's sake." I've seen drunk frat boys invent more useful shit than this.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
This plus facetime (and the lunchcart robot) now completely eliminates the need to get any exercise whatsoever during the work day (except finger jumpingjacks and stretches on the keyboard, of course).
Was this invented by a cabal of cardiologists?
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
becaue usually when you print a file, you already have file in digital format and thus want it in physical.
So, for the phsyical medium they should use punched paper tape, transfer that, and then the end user could run that through a punch tape reader and print it off there.
Or better yet, if you are printing stuff that is that sensitive, maybe you should have a private printer?
What I'd do with this thing is queue up several hundred copies of Goatse and have it follow me around, spewing Goatse across the entire building. This will accomplish two things:
1. Everyone will want to know where the hell the printer is, and come looking for it (and thus find Goatse).
2. I will finally get to hear someone say "Why is that man spewing Goatse everywhere?"
..an intern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
.
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
Isn't that what interns are for? They are certainly, much lower cost than a robot printer.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Two important rules when using photocopiers as robots.
Metalbeard: "Never place your read end on a pirate's face"
Always use the proper paper.
I'm sure there are places with a valid need for this, but...
If you need to print confidential documents all the time, then you have a legitimate business case for your own printer (it's not like they're expensive).
If you don't have that need, getting up and walking to the printer is probably healthy for you.
There are already printers that will hold confidential material until you walk up to it and authenticate yourself.
And if there's a lot of issues around the security of what you're printing, maybe there's a staffing issue you need to look into.
my last form of exercise finally eliminated by automation.
How about a robot that prints, delivers your printed pages, then goes out and plants a tree to compensate for them.
To make sure those pesky humans get enough exercise, the robot can also deliver a watering can and instruct the human to water the tree.
Oh, the possibilities...
damn yall some lazy sunsofbitches!!
-db
I don't know why this and the other replied comment aren't upvoted more. This is clearly awesome.
We already have things like "user boxes", where you send the print job to your "box" on the printer, and have to walk over and start it. That lets you use a "public" printer without leaving your document sit in the output tray unattended. Our main printer in our office does this, and we're a small business with about 60 people.
I have an HP inkjet and it usually spits sheets of paper clear across the tray and into the air. Mine is on a shelf so that my printouts can rain down onto my desk.
Why are we still printing documents?
---- Booth was a patriot ----
HP Lake Stevens had several of those 25+ years ago, that use floor tiles for encoder.
They could even use the elevator and park themselves at charging stations.
Another reason not to get off our fat asses!
Can this robotic thing actually be less costly than simply putting a $50 laser printer at each desk?
Why reinvent the wheel for people who barely need to walk? Seriously, this is a solution for a problem that was solved years ago.
If the browsers already have specific accounts on the printer, give each browser an access code to use to access their print cue at the printer and don't actually print the documents until the person is standing there to input the access code. I worked for a mortgage company for a few years and this is exactly how it was done there. (though not for security reasons, but because we did TONS of printing and it kept people from getting each other's work mixed up.
I mean seriously, is the robot going to be any more secure than just leaving it on the printer? If I want your sensitive documents, your robot butler better have some serious backup to keep me from just taking it from the tray it's carrying it to you on en route. They haven't fixed the problem at all, they've just made the problem mobile and made stealing documents more fun.
becaue right back at ya!
But I often see long trails of ants on the floor following a trail of chemicals laid down by the ants themselves!
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Because standing up and walking is too hard?
Our finance dept is on a different floor, and I say dept, but it used to be only several people, not all of which were always in the office. When they printed something sensitive, they'd immediately make a mad dash down the stairs to the printer room.
They have a printer on their floor now and they are happy, so yea, a robot is pretty overkill.
Is this really more cost effective than putting printers at each seat?
If it could bring me a cup of coffee at the same time...
In Soviet Russia, printer sends job to you!