Amazon Robot Picking Challenge 2015

mikejuk writes The Amazon Picking Challenge at ICRA (IEEE Robotics and Automation) 2015 is about getting a robot to perform the picking task. All the robot has to do is pick a list of items from the automated shelves that Amazon uses and place the items into another automated tray ready for delivery. The prizes are $20,000 for the winner, $5000 for second place and $1000 for third place. In addition each team can be awarded up to $6000 to get them and their robot to the conference so that they can participate in the challenge. Amazon is even offering to try to act as matchmaker between robot companies and teams not having the robot hardware they need. A Baxter Research Robot will be made available at the contest.

Comments

Pay me once, shame on me.

[Immerman]

So basically they're paying the winners less than one year's salary for a picker, in order to develop a technology that will permanently replace virtually every picker in all their warehouses. I see how this is a good deal for Amazon, not so much how it's fair for the competitors or good for the human race.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

It might be worth it if you can enter with absolutely no loss of patents or copyrights, or grants of license to Amazon, for anything related to the robot you enter; but only if you were already working on the problem for reasons related to an amount of money that ranks somewhere between 'insulting' and 'hilarious' in comparison to the value of the task. $20k would likely have some difficultly covering even your expenses, much less actually rewarding you, and that's the big prize.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[JBMcB]

I'm sure you had your secretary type out your message for you. Or are you using a job-destroying computer?

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Robots are a good deal when it comes to grueling and repetitive tasks that are harmful to human workers.

It's good for the human race because the jobs in the Amazon warehouses are too difficult for human workers to perform safely over long periods of time.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[plover]

So basically they're paying the winners less than one year's salary for a picker, in order to develop a technology that will permanently replace virtually every picker in all their warehouses.

I didn't understand that either. Someone with a machine vision and shelf picking system could name their price instead of settling for a measly $10K. Hell, they could lease just one of those pickers out for $10K/year each, and Amazon would snap them up as fast as they could come off the factory line; as would just about every other warehouse operation in the country.

I'd say "nice try, Amazon", but it doesn't even seem like they're trying. This is just pathetic.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[Aighearach]

It might be worth it if you can enter with absolutely no loss of patents or copyrights, or grants of license to Amazon, for anything related to the robot you enter; but only if you were already working on the problem for reasons related to an amount of money that ranks somewhere between 'insulting' and 'hilarious' in comparison to the value of the task. $20k would likely have some difficultly covering even your expenses, much less actually rewarding you, and that's the big prize.

Nonsense, it is easily worth it just if you think you can build a robot that can complete the task.

The design would be worth billions, if you add in a bunch of investment money. (which would flow to a contest winner) And the $20k easily pays back the materials cost of a garage/makerspace-built prototype.

I agree if you're not already thinking about robotics and interested in working on it then it would be a bad idea to enter. But that is true of any technical contest. But you don't need to already be working on it. You only have to believe that you can complete an entry that does that task. Even if there are multiple teams that complete, they'll all be well positioned to make $$$, not just the winner.

The bigger carrot than the $20k is that teams that appear to have an entry with a chance to win can get up to $6000 for travel expenses. So with that, a team of engineering grad students with a small budget could really have a chance. If they know already they want to make some kind of robot, the paid competition travel could make it worthwhile to choose this project. And for a hobbyist or small inventor working on a budget, it could have a similar enabling effect.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[Aighearach]

I'd say "nice try," but I suspect your reading comprehension is actually higher than you displayed here, but that you just did not in fact try very hard.

And guess what, regardless of if they accept the prize from Amazon or not, they can still name their price, including to Amazon. But I doubt they'll want to lease them. They're going to prefer to buy your company, or license your design.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[Aighearach]

More likely they knew they wanted to participate in the robotics conference taking place in Seattle, and they set aside a budget, and then decided to use it for a contest, and then asked what robot they wanted. And it turns out they already know what robot they wanted, because they bought the company that makes the robot-shelf-thingies that currently deliver the bins and groups of items to the human pickers. This is the last step in the process that isn't already automated.

Given that they already bought a related company, I doubt this is just some "boss" saying "yeah, I guess."

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[cheekyboy]

Would a card board box, with a midget inside qualify as a robot ?

No batteries needed!

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[Aighearach]

Would a card board box, with a midget inside qualify as a robot ?

No batteries needed!

Only if you resurrect Steve Jobs to stand next to it waving his hand, "This is the droid you are looking for."

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

The design would be worth billions, if you add in a bunch of investment money. (which would flow to a contest winner) And the $20k easily pays back the materials cost of a garage/makerspace-built prototype.

That's why I included the bit about "absolutely no loss of patents or copyrights, or grants of license to amazon, for anything related to the robot." bit.

The value of something that is good enough to win the prize is far larger than the prize. If you can compete without compromising your control of your entry in any way, it only costs the time of whoever you send to unpack the robot and participate. If touching the contest involves granting any right to your entry, you should probably run away screaming.

Re:Pay me once, shame on me.

[Wycliffe]

Why full employment? Why aren't we all working half time and spending more time living our lives?

I agree. I think we've added more than enough labor saving devices that we should be able to start redefining
"full employment" as less than 40 hours per week. We have a long way to go though as (at least in the USA)
we can't even seem to get people and companies to limit their work to 40 much less something less than 40.

Re:Reminds me of Real Steel and John Henry

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

John Henry? Isn't that the guy who voluntarily worked a bunch of unpaid overtime to finish his last project before being automated into obsolescence; and then died just in time to save his employer the risk of paying any sort of severance?

Unless you are Jeff Bezos, you might consider a story with a different moral.

Re:What about the 2020-2040 welfare settings

[Anonymous Coward]

Your comment may have sounded coherent in your mind, but I assure you it was the drugs talking.

Amazon you cheap ass bastards!!!

[cheekyboy]

Go hire a team engineers and pay the $1m it takes to develop it.

Dont give away shit money.

$6k barely covers startup costs hardware.

This solution will save you millions and you wanna pay $6000?

Thats just the CEOs lunch!

Re:Karl Marx was right!

[HornWumpus]

Most trolls count their success in replies. Karl Marx counts his in megadeaths.

Das Kapital was the most 'successful' troll in history. Beating out 'the Bible', 'the Koran', 'the Karma Sutra', 'the Anarchists Cookbook' and 'The Collected Sayings of Mao Tse Tung'!

How many replies will this get? Will I be modded troll? I won't beat 'Das Kapital'.

More basically, why am I responding to a troll? Better then work.