Walmart began using robots supplied by Bossa Nova Robotics in 2017 , with initial deployments in 50 locations. The mobile robots would simplify routine work in stores, said the company, using machine vision to scan shelves and identify what products needed restocking. Earlier this year, Bossa Nova said it planned to expand to 1,000 Walmart stores.
Why exactly Walmart is ending the partnership is unclear, though it seems the global pandemic had an effect. The WSJ reports that as more people began shopping online, Walmart found it had "more workers walking the aisles frequently to collect online orders." It seems that these workers could then perform the same inventory checks as the robots.
In case you are keeping track:
Mixed blessings for robots in retail
Ocado Group has spent almost £300m on acquiring robot technology businesses in a bid to build out robotic picking at its customer fulfilment centres.
Through the acquisition of two North American robotic companies, Kindred Systems and Haddington Dynamics, Ocado hopes to make a step-change in advancing robotic manipulation capabilities.
The company, which recently became the home delivery partner for Marks & Spencer , believes existing industrial robotics is ill-suited to manage the complexity of the grocery domain. It said that in the context of retail, successful robotics needs to match the perception, cognition and dexterity of humans in order to make smart decisions on the fly.
These Factory Robots May Point the Way to 5G's Future | WIRED
But the highest 5G speeds only work on some types of transmitters, and it will take time for wireless carriers to build out their networks. This means patchy and inconsistent performance for 5G smartphones so far.
Inside a factory or warehouse, however, a private wireless network can guarantee coverage. The new standard also promises latencies as low as a millisecond, compared with around 50 milliseconds for current networks, as well as high reliability and the capacity for many thousands of devices to connect at once.
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Artist Sougwen Chung collaborates and paints with A.I. robots - The Washington Post
NEW YORK — Sougwen Chung looks down at her silent, stubborn collaborator with a mix of affection and mild vexation.
"I need to debug the unit," says the 35-year-old artist. "It won't cooperate with me today." She strokes the silver-and-white contraption as if she's soothing a child. Clearly, it is more to her than a "unit." It's a robotic arm that paints, powered by artificial intelligence.
Meet Doug. Full name: Drawing Operations Unit, Generation Four. Chung uses it and other robots in her performance-based artworks. She and the robots paint together on large canvasses, part team effort, part improvised dance.
Disney's new robot has a creepily human gaze - CNN Video
Rebuilding A Hero (the Robot, Not The Sandwich) | Hackaday
When [Scott Baker] found a Heathkit Hero Junior on eBay, he grabbed it. He had one as a kid, but it was long sold. The robot arrived with no electronics, so the first order of business is to give it some new modern brains including an ATMega328 and a Raspberry Pi. You can see the start of the project in the video below.
So far, you can see a nice teardown of the chassis and what’s left of the little robot’s drive system. This wasn’t the big Hero-1 that you probably remember, but it was still a pretty solid platform, especially for the time it was on the market.
Mission Accomplished - UT News
A methodical voice tells the watching crowd, "I am going to remove the lid." Everyone is quiet as a robot using artificial intelligence (AI) opens a trash can and lifts out a bag. Students and researchers hold their breath as it navigates across the floor of a mock house, avoiding obstacles to its destination. "Mission accomplished," it says. The trash has been taken out and the audience applauds.
It may seem like a lot of fanfare for a basic chore, but it is a complicated task for a machine. The robot demonstrated autonomy and communication skills in a changing environment, key interests for artificial intelligence experts right now and the U.S. military. Related research could help future service robots go beyond taking out the trash to assisting and performing dangerous tasks — keeping soldiers out of harm's way.
Happening on Twitter
Walmart is reportedly giving up on shelf-scanning robots in favor of humans https://t.co/DcGkvLqXHb https://t.co/MlrnTDcmQC verge (from New York) Tue Nov 03 11:45:30 +0000 2020
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