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Robot Janitors Are Coming To Mop Floors At a Walmart Near You (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The world's largest retailer is rolling out 360 autonomous floor-scrubbing robots in some of its stores in the U.S. by the end of the January, it said in a joint statement with Brain Corp., which makes the machines. The autonomous janitors can clean floors on their own even when customers are around, according to the San Diego-based startup. Brain's robots are equipped with an array of sensors that let them gather and upload data.
Brain doesn't make its own hardware, focusing instead on developing software -- BrainOS -- that endows machines with autonomy in closed environments. At first, the machines were need to be operated by humans, who "teach" the layout of the space that needs cleaning. After that the robots can perform the task autonomously. The robots, which look like a cross between a miniature Zamboni and a motorized wheel chair, already scrub floors at airports in Seattle, San Diego, Boston and Miami, Brain Chief Executive Office Eugene Izhikevich said. Brain last month unveiled a smaller version of the machine developed jointly with SoftBank's robotics arm and aimed at the Japanese market.
Brain doesn't make its own hardware, focusing instead on developing software -- BrainOS -- that endows machines with autonomy in closed environments. At first, the machines were need to be operated by humans, who "teach" the layout of the space that needs cleaning. After that the robots can perform the task autonomously. The robots, which look like a cross between a miniature Zamboni and a motorized wheel chair, already scrub floors at airports in Seattle, San Diego, Boston and Miami, Brain Chief Executive Office Eugene Izhikevich said. Brain last month unveiled a smaller version of the machine developed jointly with SoftBank's robotics arm and aimed at the Japanese market.
just wait for the slip and fall scam people to have fun with them!
What could possibly go wrong?
Table-ized A.I.
Don't worry, all those people who have lost their jobs will be freed for more creative careers as programmers and web site developers. Apparently.
...that means even MORE Trump supporters are going to be out of work!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
The robots, which look like a cross between a miniature Zamboni and a motorized wheel chair,
I wonder how may people will get confused and try to use them as a motorized wheel chair.
Or they could say "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" when people approach wet floors, thus avoiding any liability.
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
Normally, I reserve a special place in hell for people that do this shit because is drives up costs for everyone. However if it ends up screwing over Walmart, I'll gladly make an exception to my own opinion.
When someone dies in their 90's it's a time of fucking celebration, not grief. My grandmother just died - 96. Well done to her.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Only if your name is Will Robinson.
How about a moderation of -1 pedantic.
That is the point. Not that the machine can do this, but that it is actually cheaper than the cheap workers Wallmart employs. If a worker costs $10/hour, $20K/year then the machine would need to cost less than that (plus normal mop). And not just the capital cost, but programming, maintenance. You have to fix a machine, whereas you can always just replace a broken worker.
So this is indeed interesting. Not some theoretical university prototype, but a practical, cheap machine.
We are going to see a LOT of these over the next decade. And the impact will be difficult to predict.
Danger Mrs. Robinson! Danger!"
FTFY - For the younger generation, cultural reference for Mrs. Robinson.
It works well. They move slowly so you can step out of the way if you want, but it will go around you if you don't move. If you step in front of the cleaner it will stop completely. I can't imagine any jobs were lost over this either. Someone has to tend to the machine, such as fill with water and cleaner, etc.
Dude, Walmart pays $1500 EACH for their shitty buggies. That was about 6 years ago, they're probably higher now. They'll pay 10k, and I say they'll pay 3 times that. At this point, it's not about the money for them. It's about what they can do to undo labor laws that exist and whatever they can do to "prove" the point that the gov will not "force" them to provide a living wage to its workers. They will straight shut a store down if there's even a hint at Union organization. Doesn't matter if that store was profitable or not, it gets closed. They're already rich as fuck. They'd like to stay that way.
I can't speak for Chris. But it's called being a smart ass. Laugh, it's funny. Asshole.
The first suite will die when walmart whips out the video recordings from the robot. You can expect they'll also be used as mobile "loss prevention" cameras.
I've long thought that cleaning robots in industrial settings were around the corner. Schools, offices, stores, all could benefit from robotic vacuums & mopping devices. The problem in places where you don't have nice straight aisles like a grocery or big box store is navigating around chairs and tables and other obstructions. It is a challenge I think will be iteratively solved in the coming decades and humans will move from doing all the cleaning tasks to more supervision of the robots and doing smaller tasks it can't (like mirrors, toilets, windows, sinks, etc.). An office nightly cleaning staff might go from 15 to say 8. It will get interesting when robots can take on some of the more dangerous floor tasks like stripping & waxing (harsh chemicals exposure) and floor buffing.
So somebody said Robinson, and you said "Mrs. Robinson."
Double Entendre - a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué or indecent.
Why is that possibly funny?
Mrs. Robinson was the older woman who seduces her son's friend in The Graduate. You are far more likely to run into Mrs. Robinson than Will Robinson from Lost In Space at Walmart.
When actually talking to people, if you said that, do you think anybody would laugh?
Maybe, maybe not. Mrs. Robinson was the hotest sex fantasy of young boys growing up and a popular song in the 1970's. An older woman who seduces a younger guy would be called a MILF, a cougar or your mama today.
I'm not the one using multiple accounts to accuse someone of being Chris. Whoever that fucker is.
Robinson Crusoe was stuck on an island not inside a Walmart.
Robot Janitors and yet they can't keep track of the hundreds of stray shopping carts you find miles away from the store.
So these will come when they hear, "Cleanup on aisle 7"?
When I worked at a big box store in college it was Ernie that came. Ernie was more than a bit mentally challenged, but he worked hard and got the job done. He was proud as punch to have a job and support himself. Everyone I ever saw was patient and kind with Ernie.
Robots are inevitable. I just hope whatever follows is patient and kind with us.
It's like you think a reference to a movie is in itself a joke...
Plastics.
Get a life. Asshole.