Robots Command Humans to Cleanup Spills in Grocery Stores

cageymaru

cageymaru

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Lidar equipped robots called "Marty" from Ahold Delhaize are now being deployed in the USA to count inventory, detect spills and summon human employees over to clean up the mess. These autonomous robots are equipped with 8 cameras and are monitored by employees in foreign countries who will verify a spill before allowing the robot to alert store employees over a loudspeaker. Giant/Martin's and Stop & Shop brands are rolling them out in addition to Food Lion, and Hannaford. Walmart and Schnucks are using robots to count inventory.

A robot observed Tuesday at a Stop & Shop store in Seekonk, Massachusetts, alerted store associates to a price tag that had fallen in one aisle, and a tiny sprig of herbs in another. After moving along for a few minutes, it returned to the scene of each spill and waited until an employee pushed a button to acknowledge that the debris was picked up. A union that represents Giant and Stop & Shop workers says it's keeping an eye on Marty.
 
travm said:
Did I read that the robots are monitored by humans in a foreign country? Dafuq.
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From the AP link in the story.

Badger Technologies CEO Tim Rowland says its camera-equipped robots stop after detecting a potential spill. But to make sure, humans working in a control center in the Philippines review the imagery before triggering a cleanup message over the loudspeaker.
 
cageymaru said:
From the AP link in the story.

Badger Technologies CEO Tim Rowland says its camera-equipped robots stop after detecting a potential spill. But to make sure, humans working in a control center in the Philippines review the imagery before triggering a cleanup message over the loudspeaker.
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outsourcing management, but retaining the low paying menial jobs. Awesome! I don't know if I should feel sorry for my kids or excited for them. Here's hoping they find a way to survive....without living in my house till I die.
 
Lateralus said:
Why not just make a ShopVac autonomous? Voila - the robot can detect and clean up the spill without needing to go fetch/bother a hooman lol.
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Last I checked ShopVacs don't count inventory and can't see deep on high shelves to count further back inventory. The angle just doesn't work from the ground.

Of course then someone needs to empty they ShopVac so it's a human either way at the end. But humans can use a mop or cleaning products for sticky spills like soda that a Shop vac isn't dry great at if it found too late
 
WBurchnall said:
Last I checked ShopVacs don't count inventory and can't see deep on high shelves to count further back inventory. The angle just doesn't work from the ground.

Of course then someone needs to empty they ShopVac so it's a human either way at the end. But humans can use a mop or cleaning products for sticky spills like soda that a Shop vac isn't dry great at if it found too late
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I was mostly kidding, but the way the article was worded made it sound like the robots alerting people to the spills were separate from the ones counting inventory anyway.

Of course, it's probably only a matter of time until one model can perform both of those jobs + more. They need to develop bots that can go out and gather the shopping carts from the stalls in the parking lot (or have self-returning carts). My first job at 16 was at a grocery store and that part of the job really sucked in the winter. :) Of course that would come with its own set of challenges because when they don't keep the lot scraped, those carts get pretty stubborn about moving through any amount of snow.
 
gwarren007 said:
Was hoping to see a Dalek, was disappointed.
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61-EC2-B82-F891-456-C-9119-CA7-EFCAA073-A.gif
 
HAL_404 said:
so it wasn't enough for American companies to use overseas reps, now overseas workers will be doing surveillance of the Public ... unbelievable
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If you didn't think it has been done already, your delusional
 
I'd like to meet the person(s) who was/were replaced by Marty, but they probably won't be in here complaining about the price of a 2080ti.
 
So it's a traffic camers for spills. So they pay these spill detectives what? 5 dollars a day? Hope this idea goes up in flames
 
WBurchnall said:
Last I checked ShopVacs don't count inventory and can't see deep on high shelves to count further back inventory. The angle just doesn't work from the ground.

Of course then someone needs to empty they ShopVac so it's a human either way at the end. But humans can use a mop or cleaning products for sticky spills like soda that a Shop vac isn't dry great at if it found too late
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Ever see WALL-E?
 
It must cost less to pay someone on the other side of the world to watch out for spills and count inventory than to pay someone locally to do the same job.
 
Jumpy-B-L said:
Build that wall! Deeez robuts eeer takin our jerbs!
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They are! They just took some poor supervisors job. Looks like robots got smart and went for the cushy jobs and left the menial work for humans...
 
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Why not have MARTY fitted with a mop so he could clean the spills himself !!
 
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