Posted on 06/01/2015 5:05:00 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Amazon is testing robots that could one day replace human workers in warehouses. Amazon's Picking Challenge was a competition designed to select which robot could best perform duties normally carried out by human workers within warehouses.
Warehouse robots were tested at the IEEE's International Conference on Robotics and Automation held in Seattle. They were made to select a paperback book, a bag of Oreo cookies, dog toys and a rubber duck from a shelf much like those typically seen in warehouses. Points were awarded for proper grasping and packing and deducted whenever a robot dropped, lost or broke an item.
"We tried to pick out a variety of different products that were representative of our catalogue and that pose different kinds of grasping challenges. Like plastic wrap; difficult-to-grab little dog toys; things you don't want to crush, like the Oreos," Pete Wurman, chief technology officer for Kiva Systems, said. Kiva makes robotic shelves that already help move goods in Amazon warehouses.
The Technical University of Berlin was the clear winner of the competition, taking first prize after being awarded 148 points and beating its closest rival by 60 points. It's robot moved 10 out of 12 objects in a 20-minute period.
(Excerpt) Read more at techtimes.com ...
At least those robots won’t be asking $15/hr ....
Robot hamburger factory makes 360 Gourmet Burgers every hour...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3100817/posts
All those people who whined to Mother Jones last year may well find themselves out of a job....
Servers those whine bastards with useless college degrees right...
Oh and the CEO of amazon is a big progressive, HA HA
Warning, Will Robinson!!
Government mandated fifteen dollar an hour jobs making this sort of automation viable, and the Limousine Libs are first in line to kick the poor, oppressed working stiff to the curb and use real robots instead of the flesh and blood kind that vote for Obozo because he’ll get them free stuff and fifteen dollar an hour menial jobs.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Buying Kiva was brilliant
For small, pre-packaged goods, this sort of thing has been going on for decades. I used to do computer support for a major, national mail-order company, and they had warehouses equipped with “Robo Pick,” which was a conveyor belt system where boxes would stop under dispensers and the items places in the box, based on the order, all done with computers. And using early wireless technologies, the for
The only human interaction was for maintenance and repairs, as well as people driving forklifts for restocking the dispensers. And using early wireless technologies, the forklifts were dispatched by the computers, and the drivers needed no knowledge of the products.
This was back around 1990!
Mark
“At least those robots wont be asking $15/hr ....”
No, but the Amazon Robots did not design, program or install themselves, and the guys who did all of that make more than $15.00 an hour.
T1 model. The T2 came later.
>>T1 model. The T2 came later.
Are you referring to the model number of the Lost In Space Robot B9 replica seen in my post?
From the website of the company that makes them...
_________________________
Pricing & Features
Pricing
—$24,500 (Price includes shipping within the continental United States. Contact us for overseas shipping details.)
Materials
- Acrylic bubble based on the existing original.
- Laser cut steel brain with polished stainless steel top cover and crown.
- CNC machined light rod ends brain cup and neck bracket.
- Accurate acrylic collar & vents, hand formed based on the original jigs used.
- Torso based on the original stone molds.
- Welded steel torso hooks.
- Laser cut aluminum bezel with engraved acrylic chest buttons.
- Machined & clear anodized aluminum microphone with stainless steel screen.
- Actual Dialight sockets and Lens (not reproductions!)
- Hundreds of individual parts fabricated from Fiberglass, acrylic, aluminum, steel, etc.
- All metal tread sections, knee plates and hinges.
- Real rubber tread belts, knee bellows, leg bellows, arms & neck bellows.
- 32 machined aluminum wheels with v-groove.
Accuracy / Season
- 3rd season version (paint & finish as seen in the final season).
- B9Creations was granted access to all remaining original materials. Needed items are on loan here for further study/duplication. All our parts are retooled based on this original material.
- B9Creations is leaving no stone unturned to produce the best possible replica of the Robot character, not the prop. In accordance with this focus, we will not replicate “prop” details that were never meant to be part of the Robot character nor meant to be seen by the viewers. (For example, we will not replicate dents, scratches, excessive texture, suit latches, etc.)
Audio features
- Internal 240 watt stereo sound system.
- Torso knob functions as Robot volume control.
- Over 500 voice tracks by Richard Tufeld, the voice of the original Robot. These are stored on an internal Compact Flash memory card to allow easy updates and customization.
- An external stereo input jack allows the user to override the built in voice library and use the Robot as a normal stereo system, juke box, etc.
Animation
- Animated Crown
- Animated Finger Lights
- Animated Ear Sensors
- Animated Torso Rotation
- Animated “functional” Soil Sampler
Control
- A 5 button key chain remote control allow you to discretely activate the Robot. Functions include turning the Robot’s torso left/right, directing the Robot’s voice to respond “Affirmative/Negative”, activating the Robot’s soil sampling sequence.
- The 10 chest buttons are functional and activate various phrases. These phrases can be customized by Richard Tufeld at an additional cost.
- Master power switch on the back of right tread section, next to power cord plug and external audio input jack.
- The “Programming bay” toggle switches will be used for Robot Activation, Audio Source Selection and animation enable/disable.
- Functional Power Pack - Pulling the Robot’s “Power Pack” will shut down the Robot with the “Aaghhhhhh...” sound, just as it did in the TV series. Plugging in the power pack activates the Robot and he will speak an appropriate phrase, “Who turned out the lights?”, etc.
- Torso knob functions as the Robot’s sound system volume control.
Articulation
- Torso is motorized and rotates automatically and via Remote Control
- Radar (head section) rotates manually
- Arms extend / retract manually
- Claws, rotate open and close in sync manually
http://www.lostinspacerobot.com/features.html
There was a pizza making machine at the last air show I went to. Amazing, you just pushed buttons of what you wanted and 12 minutes later it pops out. Of course there was a line but it was fascinating to watch.
Pizza pronto! Vending machine that rustles up a fresh pie in just THREE minutes...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3189482/posts
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