Warehouse with automated vertical storage shelves

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/02/01/watch-warehouse-with-automated.html

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This is an announcement from Genetic Control: “It is my sad duty to inform you of a four foot restriction on humanoid height.” It’s said now that people will be shorter in height, they can fit twice as many in the same building site.

I dunno, popped into me head.

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Eventually, most part pickers will be automated, too.

Well good, nobody needs low-skilled jobs anyway, right?

Ah the REMSTAR. I’ve worked in a warehouse before that didn’t have one of these - they don’t work for larger scale, heavier items like bags of dogfood. And I’ve worked in a warehouse before that did have one of these.

@Boundegar, I would say that if you’re worried about automation taking away low-skilled jobs, the REMSTAR should not be your biggest worry.

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Eventually, most part pickers will be automated, too.

Eventually, but this video addresses the trend in the usual oblique way. The key bits are the parts about productivity increase and security from pilferage, which assure the potential buyer of this (admittedly nifty and satisfying to watch) system that it will do its small part to eliminate that pesky “humans” problem.

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How come? Is it the slowness? It looks slow.

State of Utah Dept. of Alcohol and Beverage CONTROL has a completely automated robotic storage and retrieval system for their beer, liquor and wine. Everything is meticulously inventoried and distributed. I have taken a tour of the main facility and it’s pretty amazing to see it in action… but disturbing to know alcohol is so regulated, they have taken the human equation almost completely out of the loop. I need a stiff drink.

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I’m not sure what system State of Utah DABC uses, but the pallets of alcohol that are being moved around have to be several hundred if not a thousand lbs each. And the damned sleds move fast. When you see one coming at you, you know it can’t reach you, but you have the instinct to RUN AWAY!!!

I’ve always liked the compactors used in herbariums and similar systematic collections. There’s only one aisle in the room, all the cabinets are on tracks, and you move the aisle to where you need it. The cabinet edges are gasketed to keep out collection destroyers like bugs and ultraviolet light.

It’s possible that systematic collections are dying out, unfortunately, so you might want to see your local one before they scan everything into a computer and shut it down.

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To me, it’s like the necessity for cash registers. When it was literally just a till, some humans couldn’t help helping themselves or couldn’t handle the math.

Pandering to or eliminating baser human impulses from a process probably drives 80% of all new technology.

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