Walmart Testing Shelf-Scanning Robots

[monkeymagick]

America's favorite big-chain retailer is testing out shelf-scanning robots in over 50 of its stores. When deployed, these robots will roam the aisles helping human workers with inventory management. Similar to a Roomba and other robot vacuums, these things will also help in saving every worker's back. Unless you're a teenager trapped inside your local mall, try not to be too startled when you see one at your local store.

Walmart stresses that the robots are there to supplement humans, not replace them -- to eliminate drudgery and the expenses that go with it. This helps workers get to the task of filling empty shelves, and that's a job that the company doesn't see ending any time soon given the difficulty robots still have when grabbing objects...

 

[NeoNemesis]

If this job was something that humans were doing before it IS replacing humans in terms of number of hours worked or total number of employees.

I'm not against it, but don't lie about it.

 

[GNUse_the_force]

Thin end of the wedge.

 

[Comixbooks]

Just got done with 5 pallets of chemicals I would reprogram the robot to do all the lifting.

 

[DukenukemX]

How I image this working. Notice all the human workers.

 

[krotch]

They should go the other way around. The human walks around checking inventory and they input it all into some handheld device. Then robots in the back grab the items and fill the shelves. Humans do the drudgery work, while robots do the heavy lifting.

 

[Loose Nut]

Need to replace management instead, not the workers

 

[DeathFromBelow]

They should go the other way around. The human walks around checking inventory and they input it all into some handheld device. Then robots in the back grab the items and fill the shelves. Humans do the drudgery work, while robots do the heavy lifting.

Easier said than done. Not only the logistics of finding and getting things out of the back room, but the safety issues of having a robot with a heavy payload driving around a store. Though a robot that feeds on random dirty Walmart customers/associates might not be a bad thing.

This actually makes a lot of sense. The robot can go around and scan efficiently while the person who would be scanning does something that actually requires human capabilities.

If this job was something that humans were doing before it IS replacing humans in terms of number of hours worked or total number of employees.

I'm not against it, but don't lie about it.

Keep in mind that nowadays Walmart is heavily understaffed. These tasks that could be done by a robot are usually getting half-assed by an overworked human.

 

[Chunder]

Keep in mind that nowadays Walmart is heavily understaffed.

Target is as well. These companies have massive staffing overturns due to their lack of livable wages/benefits. This is why Target raised their minimum pay to $11, and is increasing it till it's $15 in just over 2 years. All they need now is benefits (rather private or public) and union rights (for workable schedules, holiday expectations, etc), and they'll solve their expensive problem. The added benefit of paying people vs machines is these people will end up buying from these companies, or other local businesses(and these employees will do the same), which in turn makes them even more money. A machine doesn't do that, a machine cost paying customers.

 

[RayderR6]

If this job was something that humans were doing before it IS replacing humans in terms of number of hours worked or total number of employees.

I'm not against it, but don't lie about it.

Exactly, this is spin worthy of O'Riley.

 

[krotch]

Easier said than done. Not only the logistics of finding and getting things out of the back room, but the safety issues of having a robot with a heavy payload driving around a store. Though a robot that feeds on random dirty Walmart customers/associates might not be a bad thing.

This actually makes a lot of sense. The robot can go around and scan efficiently while the person who would be scanning does something that actually requires human capabilities.

No, I understand that it's easier to make the scanning robot, than one that could actually stock the shelves. It's just, I'd strive for the robot stocker or some kind of automatic stocking system. It could help cut down on work place injuries.

It'd of course take a longer time to develop that, than the scanning robot.

 

[IcePickFreak]

Easier said than done. Not only the logistics of finding and getting things out of the back room, but the safety issues of having a robot with a heavy payload driving around a store. Though a robot that feeds on random dirty Walmart customers/associates might not be a bad thing.

I thought everyone was clamoring to get in 2+ tons of steel that's essentially driven by a robot, at much higher speeds. Surely relatively clean store aisles and slow speeds will be a cake walk. Nobody will even be riding it.. ok, it is Walmart, somebody will be riding it.

 

[DeathFromBelow]

I thought everyone was clamoring to get in 2+ tons of steel that's essentially driven by a robot, at much higher speeds. Surely relatively clean store aisles and slow speeds will be a cake walk. Nobody will even be riding it.. ok, it is Walmart, somebody will be riding it.

Someday. Maybe in 10 years, I just see it as being too big of a liability issue. You know customers will deliberately fuck with them, too. Computers will replace doctors and lawyers and CEOs before they replace jobs that involve moving freight around crowds with elderly people and children.

Not to mention that the logistics of stocking a store are actually pretty complicated, certainly more complex than the limited driver assistance features we have today. An automated UPC scanner attached to the equivalent of a roomba is one thing, but a robot pulling around a pallet of freight, cleaning and preparing the shelves, and stocking in a 24-hour store... You're asking for a robot that not only can drive but has the fine motor skills to do all that and enough consciousness to sort and stock unassisted... It's just not happening right now. You'd need to redesign every store (at least the backroom) for safe automation and you'd need so much professional human supervision of everything that I can't imagine it would actually save money.