• PumpkinSkink@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    No they fucking aren’t. That shit would be so much more expensive than a person. Liars, and not even particularly good ones.

    • mostlikelyaperson@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      Yup, and people seem to frequently underestimate how ridiculously expensive running a fleet of humanoid robots would be (and don’t seem to realize how comparatively low the manual labor it’d replace is paid.)

    • Basic Glitch@lemm.eeOP
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      2 days ago

      I mean apparently they’re partnering with a private robotics company. The picture is an actual model of the company’s robot. Whether or not they actually end up implementing this, they’re allegedly currently training the robots.

      Presumably, if nothing else, Amazon/Bezos is probably getting some sweet federal kick backs to attempt this and further the current administration’s agenda to beat “Gyna” in the science and tech race. Except unlike Gyna, the U.S. is firing all of their scientists (which, until Jan. 2025, was one area that the U.S. had unquestionably dominated China) bc they think AI can replace them too.

      So now, they’re just handing all the resources to the kind of technocratic “elites” who are used to just purchasing their good ideas, rather than actually creating anything. This is also why they seem to genuinely believe something like Amazon humanoids is a sound investment, “durr, we don’t need people bcuz we haz robots.”

      Fun fact, just learned they are indeed going to try to replace scientists with robots too. There was a meeting about it yesterday:

      For all we know they made the futuristic robot exoskeleton, took some fancy pictures of it holding a package, and that’s all she wrote. The end result is just some rich assholes are slightly richer at the expense of the tax payer, and we should be grateful. 'Merica! 🇺🇲

  • last_philosopher@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Let’s count the problems:

    1. Up front cost
    2. Maintenance cost
    3. Varied problems like different types of stairs, tripping hazards, etc.
    4. People attacking or stealing robots and their packages.
    5. Safety issues with 100+ pound metal robots falling on pets and children

    Any others?

    • CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Rain? I know its not going to fall over and shoot out sparks like a cartoon but rain does mess with visibility and grip, plus this is a robot with a lot of joints and moving parts that’s probably going to be maintained by someone who has to pee in a bottle so the cartoon falling over and shooting sparks isn’t actually out of the question.

  • ch00f@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Amazon announced using drones in 2014. In pop culture, drone delivery is like an assumed common practice. Yet fucking nobody gets their packages delivered by drone. It’s been over a decade.

    These robots are vaporware. Amazon will get a stock bump and that’s the whole point.

    • Buckshot@programming.dev
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      4 days ago

      Yeah, humans regularly deliver stuff wrong on our street. There is no way robots will manage. I get packages for both by neighbours and they get mine more often than correct deliveries and one of my neighbours is a business.

      • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        What makes you think you can’t have individualized instructions for harder to reach addresses? After the first failure it’s pretty trivial to go out and fix it. Google does far more work maintaining maps and directions services.

        Vs having a new delivery guy get confused every other week?

    • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Airspace rules are a huge factor there. I see delivery robots on the sidewalk often enough though.

      I suspect most companies are still waiting out the testing and waiting for costs to be reduced.

  • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    everyone knows its just going to be indians in a data center in india controlling the bots.

    • atticus88th@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      The robot dogs police are starting to use has a two big red buttons, one on the face and one on the ass. Just jam your finger or pointer end of your rifle and it returns to station or shuts down.

    • Basic Glitch@lemm.eeOP
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      2 days ago

      I feel like we’re going to end up with more laws protecting robots and surveillance cameras than our own civil liberties.

      Wonder where all those angry white guys with tiki torches and khaki shorts are now? The ones that thought the Jews were trying to replace them? 🤔

  • thatradomguy@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Yo why tf can’t they just fucking pay people a reasonable wage AND give them sane working conditions? This is insane. Capitalism does not favor anyone except the rich. It’s time to tear down this wall of mediocrity and face the facts. No sense of government intervention will fix this. It must all be rewritten entirely.

    • squaresinger@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Because it’s not real. It’s purely for marketing, not for actual wide-spread implementation.

      Even in the best of cases, even factoring in economy of scale and all that, a robot like that will cost upwards of €50k at least, probably closer to double that, will require constant maintainance, and the risk of vandalism or accidental damage is really high. And you’ll likely need a (skilled) human operator nearby anyway, because the delivery vehicle doesn’t drive itself.

      The purpose of projects like this is marketing and public perception.

      • The company looks futuristic and future proof. That’s good to get investors.
      • The company looks like they could replace humans with robots at any time. That’s good with negotiations with unions and workers.
      • The company gets into headlines worldwide. That’s advertisement they don’t have to pay for.

      This robot is not meant to ever go mainstream. Maybe there will be a handful of routes where they will be implemented for marketing purposes, but like drone delivery and similar gimmicks, it won’t beat a criminally underpaid delivery human on price, and that’s the only metric that counts for a company like Amazon.

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I tend to disbelieve this, mainly because a humanoid robot would be overkill. Custom-purpose robots would be much cheaper to design, build and maintain, with fewer potential failure points.

  • megabat@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    I can’t wait to throw a Faraday blanket over one of these and jtag some open source firmware on it. What do you mean steal? I didn’t steal anything, I just repurposed some garbage left on my front step!

  • frazw@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Amazon 1 year after launch: Unfortunately, the space needed for robots in the van means that the van has to return to base 5 times more often to reload with the actual packages and the extra weight of robots more than doubles the weight of the van being lugged around in the form of heavy robots. So that’s why we are having to charge more for delivery and why it is taking longer for you to get your packages. But at least we can pay fewer salaries.

  • Botzo@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    They can depreciate these assets over their useful life, because unlike your soggy flesh sack, these are capital expenses, not operating expenses.

    … For now. I’m sure there are libertarians that think you should be able to sell yourself as the depreciable asset you are.

  • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    humanoid robot: dances

    amazon: shock

    humanoid robot: makes coffee

    amazon: shock

    humanoid robot: delivers package

    amazon: friendly shock

    • Basic Glitch@lemm.eeOP
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      4 days ago

      I guess they felt like drones flying over civilian populations was a bit too unsettling in this day and age, so they are shifting to humanoids that will jump suddenly from moving vehicles and dash towards a destination.