Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

A new high or low in robots in the warehouse.

I find this one fascinating. This warehouse “robot” walks a human to the right spot in the cavern of products.

The touchscreen shows the human what product to load in the bin. Hence, the robot knows where the product is and how many products to ship. The human knows next to nothing. The human, however, has a functioning arm and hand. Automating the reaching and picking and placing is a bit too expensive at this time. Just wait a few years though.

Anyways, the smart robotic cart leads the not-nearly-as-smart person around the warehouse like a little puppy dog. The makers sell this as a collaborative robot in that it works with the human, not replacing the human.

Does anyone else see the arrogance here? The makers are condescending towards the little people who work in the warehouse. The warehouse owners admit that their human employees are morons.

How does a person think that way about a person they employ? How desperate are persons to take these jobs where the robot leads them around?