I am a huge fan of the terminator movies, not just because of the great action and effects, but because I knew that it could one day be true. That one day, robots could become all knowing and take over the planet.
It appears that we are closer than it seems. Well, the production side of the terminators anyway.
Kiva systems, a company founded in 2003 by Mick Mountz, is producing production line robots that pull products from warehouses and bring them to a specialized workstation called packing stations where humans pack the inventory. The robots are so smart that the founder claims they are more productive than humans, continuously updating and re-organizing inventory based on order volume and frequency. Mountz claims that the product can up efficiency levels up to four times, allowing some companies costs to be cut enough to offer incentives to customers such as free shipping.
About a dozen retailers, including amazon and their shoe company zappos, is using the technology, and it will soon be available to lease in peak shipping times for certain markets to help cut costs. Although the packages run from the 4-6 million dollar range, with the cheapest, 1 million, supplying 30 robots and two packing stations, the investment can run on any inventory software, eliminating the need to install a new system. It appears that the age of robots is finally coming around, I just don’t want a “orange tortoise” robot coming after me one day, that might be too much to handle.
I could smell your blogpile a mile away...Lured by the smell, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to comment on this post. The thought of robots entering the workforce is terrifying. I couldn't agree more, it's only a matter of time before movies like the terminator (more like iRobot) will become a reality. All you need is a psychotic founder with some people skills who can convince his minions that the robots are better than people. All I'm saying is we need to be careful, and get ready to drop some money on Will Smith consulting fees. Robots: cutting costs today, throats tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm excited.
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