Humans vs. robots: The battle reaches a ‘turning point’
Humans vs. robots: The battle reaches a
‘turning point’
Story by Pranshu
Verma • December 10, 2022 4:00 AM
Warehouse robots are finally
reaching their holy grail moment: picking and sorting objects with the
dexterity of human hands.
Amazon has robotic arms that
can pick and sort cumbersome items like headphones or
plushy toys before they’ve been boxed. FedEx has piloted a similar system, which it uses in some
warehouses to sort mail of various sizes.
And other companies are
making progress, too.
For decades, training a robot
to be more humanlike has stumped engineers, who couldn’t
replicate the ability to grip and move items. But now gains in artificial
intelligence technology, cameras and engineering are bearing fruit, allowing
robots to see objects of varying shapes and sizes and adjust their grasp
accordingly.
The technology, computer
scientists say, is finally getting reliable enough that companies find it
feasible to deploy.
“This moment is a turning
point,” said Kris Hauser, a robotics expert and computer science professor at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “They’re competent enough at
this point.”
But there’s also contentious
debate. Critics worry robots will take people’s jobs, though boosters say it’ll
just create different ones. Others note more robots could result in higher
rates of worker injury or result in tougher human surveillance to ensure
they’re hitting targets.
Beth Gutelius, an economic
development professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said the way
companies unleash these robots without much testing or regard to worker safety
is concerning.
“Shouldn’t we all want these
things to work better for more people?” she said.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos
owns The Washington Post.
These robots were trained on AI. They became racist and sexist.
Robots have been on the scene
for years, but it’s been a slog for scientists to get them to replicate tasks
as well as humans — particularly when it comes to hands. Amazon has Kiva
robots, which look like Roombas and move packages on the factory floor, but
still need humans to pack and sort them.
Elon Musk has
notoriously said he would automate Tesla’s manufacturing, but humans
are still needed to do work on the assembly line at the company’s Fremont,
Calif., factory. He also recently unveiled Tesla’s proto type humanoid robot Optimus, which is aiming to reshape physical
work.
Related video: These
Self-Healing Robots Could Revolutionize Soft Robotics Forever (Amaze Lab)
Google recently unveiled robots that are fueled by artificial
intelligence to help humans with everyday tasks. Some robots are even
learning how to cook fries.
Despite the advances, the
hardest challenge for researchers has been teaching robots to adjust their
grips to different sizes and shapes, said Ken Goldberg, an industrial
engineering professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
But in the past decade,
things have started to change, he said. 3D camera technology, spurred by
Microsoft’s Kinect motion sensing cameras, has become better at spotting
images. Deep learning, a field of artificial intelligence that uses algorithms
loosely modeled on the brain, allows computers to analyze more images.
Researchers started better understanding the physics of grasping things, and
incorporating that into robotic suction cups and pickers.
The result: modern-day
robotic machines that often look like long arms. Their vision is fueled by
software that uses machine learning algorithms to analyze what objects look
like to instruct robots on how to grip things. The suction cups or claws adjust
pressure and control with the finesse humans take for granted.
Amazon in particular has been
chasing the technology, the industry experts said. As one of the world’s
largest retailers, plagued with high rates of turnover and promises to deliver
packages quickly, it made strong financial sense to try to automate warehouse
processes as much as possible.
In 2012, the company acquired
mobile robotics company Kiva for $775 million in cash. In 2014, the company
announced a “picking challenge,” challenging scientists to create robots that
could pick up assorted items, varying from Sharpies to Oreo cookie packages,
from a mobile shelf.
Last month, Amazon unveiled
its picking-and-sorting robot called Sparrow, a long robotic arm that can grab
items before they are packed in boxes. It’s being researched and developed in
Massachusetts and in operation at an Amazon facility in Dallas, officials said.
It can sort roughly 65 percent of products in its inventory, according to
company officials, but nationwide expansion plans aren’t set yet.
The robot fits into a broader
automation strategy, according to Amazon. If mastered, Sparrow could pick
products up after they’ve been offloaded from trucks and before they’re wrapped
and put onto mobile shelving. Once boxed, Amazon’s robotic system, called
Robin, could sort them to their destination. Cardinal, another robotic machine,
could put them into a waiting cart, before being loaded onto a truck.
Amazon has consistently said
more machines will allow people to find better jobs. Robots are “taking on some
of the highly repetitive tasks within our operations, freeing up our employees
to work on other tasks that are more engaging,” said Xavier Van Chau, a spokesman
for the company.
In March, mailing giant
Pitney Bowes inked a $23 million deal with Ambi Robotics to use the
company’s picking-and-sorting robots to help sort packages of various shapes,
sizes and packaging materials. In August, FedEx agreed to purchase $200 million in
warehouse robotics from Berkshire Grey to do similar tasks. A few months before that, it launched an AI-fueled mail
sorting robot in China.
Although the bulk of the
technology started to appear a few years ago, it’s taken time to ensure these
systems reduce errors down to less than 1 percent, said Hauser, which is
crucial for company bottom lines.
“Each mistake is costly,” he
added. “But now, [robots] are at a point where we can actually show: ‘Hey, this
is going to be as reliable as your conveyor belt.’”
As Walmart turns to robots, it’s the human workers who feel
like machines
Revenue generated by
companies making picking-and-sorting robots are skyrocketing, said Ash Sharma,
a robotics and warehouse industry expert at Interact Analysis, a market
research firm.
The research firm estimates
companies that make these products will rake in $365 million this year. Next year,
it’s estimated to be over $640 million. It’s a jump from the roughly $200
million last year and $50 million in 2020 these companies generated in revenue,
data forecasts show.
A big factor is the labor
shortage, he said.
Gutelius, of the University
of Illinois at Chicago, said that although the technology proves interesting,
it comes with risks. With more robots on warehouse floors, workers alongside
them will have to work at a quicker pace, risking more injuries.
The Washington Post has reported that Amazon
warehouses can be more dangerous than rivals. Experts say that adding robots to
the process can increase injuries.
Van Chau said machines doing
repetitive tasks will help workers. “We can take some of that strain away from
employees,” he said.
The next generation of home robots will be more capable — and
perhaps more social
But Gutelius says companies
making claims that these robots will help need to be scrutinized, saying they
tend to implement solutions too quickly.
“It’s sort of classic ‘move
fast and break things,’” she said. “And in this case, I think ‘breaking
things,’ it ends up being people.”
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