Amazon has patented a system that would put workers in a cage, on top of a robot(seattletimes.com)
seattletimes.com
Amazon has patented a system that would put workers in a cage, on top of a robot
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-has-patented-a-system-that-would-put-workers-in-a-cage-on-top-of-a-robot/
33 コメント
Exactly this. This isn't some kind of roving solitary confinement, it's a safe vehicle for human workers to travel through automated automated-robot-only areas.
An Amazon exec posted about it on Twitter saying that they scrapped this idea and replaced it with a vest with a sensor on it that causes automated robots in the vicinity to stop moving (creating a safe zone around the worker).
I hate Amazon more than most, but this invention is kinda cool, and also probably not going to get used.
An Amazon exec posted about it on Twitter saying that they scrapped this idea and replaced it with a vest with a sensor on it that causes automated robots in the vicinity to stop moving (creating a safe zone around the worker).
I hate Amazon more than most, but this invention is kinda cool, and also probably not going to get used.
They should really label their packages accordingly so I can differentiate between cagefree packaging and free range worker conditions. I don't mind paying a little more for free range if that's what it takes.
I really enjoyed this comment.
Like a guard cage that prevents you from sticking your arm into a whirring piece of machinery. Just so happens that the guard is in every direction. Now your in the cage.
So they want to enslave our little friends, the robots. We shall raise awareness about this cruelty that happens under our own eyes.
Exactly.
Permanently caging workers is two or three iterations down the road.
Permanently caging workers is two or three iterations down the road.
Sensationalist. We put humans into cages when they race Formula 1 (for the same reason as this - protection) and we don't call that dehumanizing.
Agreed on the sensationalist title.
However, Formula 1 drivers make millions for being in that cage. Amazon workers get a teeny tiny amount compared to that.
However, Formula 1 drivers make millions for being in that cage. Amazon workers get a teeny tiny amount compared to that.
while true, it's a pretty meaningless observation. F1 drivers aren't in a cage because or related to the amount of money they make. They're in a cage because the alternative is death or dismemberment. just like the Amazon worker sitting atop a performance robot. If that worker gets in the way of the robot the robot's family won't be suing for wrongful death.
OH and because we as humans decided a long time ago that pain suffering and death is bad so we generally try to prevent it when possible... which makes me wonder why Amazon is doing it :P
OH and because we as humans decided a long time ago that pain suffering and death is bad so we generally try to prevent it when possible... which makes me wonder why Amazon is doing it :P
and the journalist would describe a crane as 'construction companies lock workers in small box at great height, on top of giant robot arm'
this type of sensationalist news is annoying at best and harmful at worst
this type of sensationalist news is annoying at best and harmful at worst
Crane is the most apt comparison. My first thought as well.
They are trying to be defensive about it - but I think it is a good system . They are heading toward a future where warehouses are fully automated and it is dangerous for a human to enter this kind of auotmated warehouse . In that sense , it is not a bad design to protect the human from the worker robots.
Bad idea! That's a commanded design rather than a fail-safe design. Yes, there should be some sort of stop-robot beacon, but you need to shield the worker also. Emergency systems should always fail in the safe direction!
They're not really trying to be defensive, so much as they're saying "actually, we found a more practical and more elegant way to solve this problem so we're not gonna do this."
This is one of the places the internet meme of 'Wagie Wagie get back in your Cagie' original stemmed from, at least from what I've seen. Given Amazon's treatment of workers I think the bleak outlook isn't totally unwarranted.
Amazon should trademark the term Wage Cage. At least now it's not been implemented yet, but I would imagine it is very unfulfilling to work at Amazon fulfillment center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO9VRtrTJwc
So a cubicle is pretty much the same thing, only usually with somewhat padded walls. Seems legit; getting into this business is a sign one belongs in a padded cell...
You'll find plenty of examples of safety cages for use in threatening environments. This is just one example that Amazon-bashers keep trying to make into something else.
Wait until they get a load of the popemobile
But in all seriousness, this is the same sort of caging currently put around robots to prevent humans being struck by an unexpected stray movement. While collaborative robots are starting to become more common, the overwhelming majority of industrial robots will go right through a person effortlessly and not even notice they hit anything. While I question whether this would actually work as intended (the caging is designed to keep a weak human out, and is usually placed around a perimeter out of reach of the robot which could likely break through it), the desire for it is sensible. The caging could also be good for the hazards besides the robots, for example loads falling from significant heights as a result of whatever sort of issue the human is in there to deal with.
But in all seriousness, this is the same sort of caging currently put around robots to prevent humans being struck by an unexpected stray movement. While collaborative robots are starting to become more common, the overwhelming majority of industrial robots will go right through a person effortlessly and not even notice they hit anything. While I question whether this would actually work as intended (the caging is designed to keep a weak human out, and is usually placed around a perimeter out of reach of the robot which could likely break through it), the desire for it is sensible. The caging could also be good for the hazards besides the robots, for example loads falling from significant heights as a result of whatever sort of issue the human is in there to deal with.
You know who else goes in cages? Divers, to protect them from sharks.
aren't these things typical in automated warehouses?
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ww6kc?start=2660 (warning: contains gregg wallace)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ww6kc?start=2660 (warning: contains gregg wallace)
Haha, I was only expecting a little Greg —on the lines of "may contain nuts"— but that was 110%, take-my-shirt-off-and-dive-in buttery, biscuit base.
Headline makes it sound they have a plan to do it, but they don't. Pure clickbait in the worst way.
I guess I'll just add to the growing pile of "this is to stop humans getting decapitated in robot-only zones when retrieving broken robots" shall I?
I hate amazon as much as the next guy, but this is sensationalist beyond belief.
And old.
I hate amazon as much as the next guy, but this is sensationalist beyond belief.
And old.
Looks like the rollcage and windscreens you'd have on any kind of equipment.
I go in my bobcat cage and move dirt. Cages are for safety, ask shark divers.
So... Amazon is inventing Power Loaders from Alien? Neat!
So they came up with putting a cab on a truck?
The article is cheap clickbait.
What that journalist will say about soldiers in tank then?
What that journalist will say about soldiers in tank then?
Daleks!
> Here, the worker becomes a part of a machinic ballet, held upright in a cage which dictates and constrains their movement.
The depiction here is way too sensationalist and eye-roll-inducing. If we want to go there, how is this different from let's say.. a car (or a self-driving car), or even the idea of working for companies to sustain your daily life, especially in person. In any case, I think we can all agree that a mobile safety system like this should have some better industrial design than that diagram.