Especially if they use them on college campuses. Obviously they’ve forgotten the propensity of college students to mess with anything technical. They may as well put a sign on top saying “I’m a toy, please play with me!”
They took our jerbs!
My biggest concern is the unpredictability of the robot delivery thing. It’s rolling along the sidewalk and you can only hope it doesn’t veer into your path.
People are more predictable. It’s ingrained that we avoid each other as much as possible. Its a subconscious adjustment as we walk. Occasionally mishaps happen and we brush against each other. It may irritate us but rarely results in any serious injury.
I wouldn’t want a device with a hard shell banging into me just above my knees. That would be more painful and I could get injured.
I’ve read Amazon and other industrial companies place robots inside fenced areas. Workers are strictly warned to stay out because industrial robots are programmed with repetitive movements. They’ll make those movements even when a person is near them.
Yes, people are often jerks and find it funny to mess with robots. Putting them on a high school or college campus will result in pranks. It’s basic human nature and a way to release stress at a unfamiliar situation.
I have read the appearance of robots matter. The Japanese designers paint a face on it with a friendly expression. The robot is given a name. It relates better with humans and there’s more acceptance.
I actually work on a university campus which has implemented food delivery robots (from Starship, as mentioned by @Dewey_Finn above). I’ve occasionally had my lunch delivered by them. This is the second year they’ve been in use.
They work quite well. They travel on sidewalks, only going into the streets when they need to cross. They cross at crosswalks, and only when vehicular traffic is at a minimum. They do not veer into the path of people who are walking; they have sensors and cameras that prevent that. Indeed, they sometimes seem overly cautious at avoiding people and other objects.
As far as I’ve been able to tell, people messing with them has not happened, or if it has, it’s at such a minimal level that you don’t hear about it. It’s actually rather fun to see them roaming around campus.
Robots are the future. We already have devices that vacuum the rugs.
The Japanese are developing robot companions to avoid loneliness and help in the house. Maybe retrieve a beer from the fridge?
The Japanese are at the forefront of consumer robotics. I see a lot of news about the latest models.
Oh don’t be silly. We slash their tires of their delivery vehicle so that it can be delivered by bicycle. Much better for the environment than car or horse.
Well, now it’s being delivered by e-scooter. What you going to do about that?
BTW, there are e-scooters that’ll go 100 km/hr (62 mph). Just the thought of going that fast standing on a small platform supported by two small wheels is scary.
How about the thought of standing on a sidewalk shared by a small platform on two small wheels doing more than 60 MPH? Don’t kid yourself, these are not staying on the street.
You obviously don’t know very many robots nor very many people.
How is that not stealing?
Wheeled motorized vehicles are not allowed on sidewalks in the city of Little Rock. I presume that is a city and not a state law. Do these devices yield to wheel chairs and skate boards?
Pshaw. What have bicycles done in the last 140 years besides take jobs away from hard-working blacksmiths, farriers, stable-boys, groomers, and other blue-collar laborers?
Seriously, I don’t know how people even ride these bicycles to places and expect people not to steal them.
Fortunately, the 100 km/hr ones costs a lot ($3200 for the least expensive at that page I linked to), so you’re not going to see many on the sidewalks or even on the street. But, yeah, there’ll be some less expensive but still too fast for sidewalks, on the sidewalks anyway. I suggest you stick to the older neighborhoods where the sidewalks have all been messed up by tree roots growing under them so even the cheap scooters don’t go there.
Yes, many industrial robots are in enclosures… because they can be large, massive, and fast. Fast enough to be a blur to the eye.
There are reasons for the elaborate safety systems and lockout procedures. At my work, the first step of the “Robotic Emergency Action Plan” is “Do not panic.” Subsequent steps involve trained personnel slowing the robot down dramatically.
We don’t have any mobile robots though.
They’re fighting back. “Tesla engineer was allegedly attacked by a robot”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyXjUJee1Bw
I have an alibi.
In the Stop & Shop I occasionally have to visit they have a robot that wanders around looking for spills and (supposedly) identifying items that need to be restocked.
It’s absolutely obnoxious because you’ll turn a corner, it will be there, and it will just stop and block the aisle in an effort to not run into you. Sometimes you can get around them, but sometimes when the store has an aisle display, or the cordons for the self-checkout, you can get into a situation where the robot has nowhere to go and people and their carts have backed up behind you.
I hate Stop & Shop.
It’s possible they added the robot because there was plenty of shopping, but not enough stopping.
You are a horrible person.
ETA: kidding, of course