Robots are poised to start unloading lorries
The last pieces of warehouse automation will soon be in place
UNLOADING LORRIES is wearisome for people, but hardly an intellectual challenge. For robots it is the reverse. Robots never tire. They do, however, have problems interpreting the data streaming in from the cameras and laser scanners that are their eyes. Seeing where one box in the back of a crowded lorry ends and another begins is second nature to a human being. But even the best artificial-vision systems struggle to cope.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Heave-ho!”
From the August 7th 2021 edition
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