Robotic Distribution

from Kiva Systems and delivered to the online retailer, Zappos.com. For more info, check out Wired Science: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/retailrobots.html

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• robots
• retail
• autonomous
• overlords

[mycurse333]

Robots or not the chick packing has a NICE ass ftw

[ScubaJonL]

Yes it will put people out of work. But is the solution to do things less efficiently? They could get ride of robots, conveyors, forklifts and machines and employ 400 Americans at minimum wage to push carts and carry boxes individually... just like the Amish would.

If you're worried about American jobs, buy American products (so stop going to Wal-Mart) but don't criticize American companies for being competitive through efficiency!

[mblefler]

I work at zappos in Louisville Kentucky where this was filmed and they don't even use this anymore. I've never even seen the robots. All I've seen are the black marks on the ground where they used to be.

[spankula123]

@ScubaJonL That's fine and dandy but no one wants to work for minimum wage except mexicans. Our kids want to be famous super stars and smoke weed and be on Real World.

[irufushi8]

@mycurse333 DUDE I just watched this video in class today and thats the first thing I thought when I saw that chick! Hahaha!

[dannydebonis]

God forbid people walk around. HUMANS WERE MEANT TO STAND STILL OR SIT ALL DAY LONG!

[mozillanerd]

Right on comment about American jobs. Just don't send this to China, etc.

[toms1197]

every machine of any sort, whether a simple rope & pulley system to the most sophisticated robotics system, or a passenger jet, etc. They are all machines. Machines simply multiply effort or work and actually make possible things otherwise impossible. If machines actually reduced the need for manual, physical labor, then the first working animal with the first bridle would have doomed humanity. But clearly it didnt and neither will these systems here.

[jimbobanalbeats]

@ScubaJonL Hard to find American products.. I agree with you 100%, we should be willing to pay a lot more for american products, but a lot of things aren't even made here at all.

[lucianopeixoto]

4:45 : the old lady almost had her arm taped together with the box!!!

[powpanda]

@ScubaJonL In fact this is the only way to compete with ultra cheap foreign labor. I agree with everything you said.

[besonix]

Hell yeah robots are working for us !! Hooray. Normally it should be a reason to be happy, but in this wacky world it's a reason to be scared because we're losing our jobs!! Isn't that just stupid? Why do we worry we lose our jobs if there's the robot at the service all time to work? Well, they don't work for us, they work for the owners of the company. Then who will buy the products if we got no jobs? These are questions that challenge capitalism nowdays. It was great 100 years ago ...