Robots: continuing their plot for world domination become petrol station attendants

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A robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors extends from a regular petrol pump, carefully opens the car's flap, unscrews the cap, picks up the fuel nozzle and directs it toward the tank opening, much as a human arm would, and as efficiently.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0462768620080204

So soon we won't even be able to fill up our cars with petrol without permission from our glorious robotic overlords.
 
I see no way that an industrial robot can be cheaper than a hillbilly teenager gas attendant.
 
in the long run im sure it will be cheaper
 
I'm not so sure. Humans require no capital investment, they can be laid off when they aren't needed, they are easy to instruct, they are easily replaced, they can perform a wide variety of tasks, and you can pay them 8 dollars an hour. This robot probably costs many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Probably several million with R&D costs included and requires a very pricey technician to service it.

Robots are cost effective in places where they can perform with higher uniformity than humans (spot welding, arc welding, spray painting), or in places where there is a high health risk to human workers.
 
Greetings human customer. Please sit back and relax while we douse your car with gasoline. Ignition will begin shortly. Do not be alarmed if you find your wheels in a locked and immobile position. This is merely for our convenience.
 
so yo guys never heard of self service pumps. the ones you can tank and pay digitally?
 
jverne said:
so yo guys never heard of self service pumps. the ones you can tank and pay digitally?
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I've only ever come across two or three in all my travels, and one of them was out of order.

I wish they would roll them out everywhere, paying for petrol can be a right pain in the arse on a bike.
 
I only ever prefer to do self service. Sometimes you have situations where you don't want to fill up the tank all the way, and if you expect some lout to do it for you, he's almost assuredly going to ignore your requests and try to top the damn thing off.

It's really not that much effort to park your car... turn off the engine, get out and service your own damn self. This includes window washing as well. IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT.

It's a point and click affair really. You just stick it in the hole and spray.

And if one of you douche bags like Vegeta replies to my post saying, "That's what she said." I'm going to reach through this screen and strangle you.
 
That's what she said.

I mean, she threatened to strangle me. I miss her.
 
Robots don't call in sick, don't ask for raises or benefits, and otherwise don't screw around on the job. All this does is replace a low end job with a high end one (because robots do need someone to repair and install them).
 
Adabiviak said:
Robots don't call in sick, don't ask for raises or benefits, and otherwise don't screw around on the job. All this does is replace a low end job with a high end one (because robots do need someone to repair and install them).
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Well... it doesn't replace a single low end job. It has the potential to replace hundreds if something like this catches on(which I can't see it doing) for every single high end job generated.
 
I just looked up one model of industrial robot, and it cost 3 million dollars. This is an industrial robot that has been modified for a custom application. So try to justify that. Also, if this is outdoors, it would be very profitable to steal it.
 
I for one would like to welcome our new robot overlords.
 
TheDude said:
I for one would like to welcome our new robot overlords.
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I'm sure they would do a much better job than our current political affair. :P Robotic Overlords for president(s)'08 ftw. :thumbs:

Raziaar said:
And if one of you douche bags like Vegeta replies to my post saying, "That's what she said." I'm going to reach through this screen and strangle you.
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That's what she said. Now try and strangle me through the monitor Raz so I can give you a high five! That would be an awesome technological breakthrough for sure. Even more so than robots.
 
So people are too lazy to get out of their cars now? What the hell.
 
Qonfused said:
So people are too lazy to get out of their cars now? What the hell.
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Expect obesity rates to skyrocket as this kind of technology continues to develope. The fools. :P At least they can do is bend over for a change.
 
The technology to automate everything has been around for decades, it is the cost and common dignity of doing things for yourself that prevents it, and reasonably so.
 
Dan said:
I just looked up one model of industrial robot, and it cost 3 million dollars. This is an industrial robot that has been modified for a custom application. So try to justify that. Also, if this is outdoors, it would be very profitable to steal it.
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Keep in mind Dan, this is merely for research purposes. If robots appear in gas stations any time soon, it will be after much more research and optimization leading to cheaper, more efficient robots. All gas companies would need to do is mass produce the components and place them at the new filling stations whenever an upgrade is needed. It's not as if individual gas station owners are going to purchase these devices as they would another source of labor... oil franchises will purchase them and install them at all locations once they become cheap enough as to be profitable.

As for stealing, I fail to see how a massive, heavy robot attached to a filling station can so easily be stolen. It wouldn't be much easier than say, stealing an ATM machine. (ATM machines are a prime example, themselves being static robotic emplacements open to the public).
 
theotherguy said:
Keep in mind Dan, this is merely for research purposes. If robots appear in gas stations any time soon, it will be after much more research and optimization leading to cheaper, more efficient robots. All gas companies would need to do is mass produce the components and place them at the new filling stations whenever an upgrade is needed. It's not as if individual gas station owners are going to purchase these devices as they would another source of labor... oil franchises will purchase them and install them at all locations once they become cheap enough as to be profitable.

As for stealing, I fail to see how a massive, heavy robot attached to a filling station can so easily be stolen. It wouldn't be much easier than say, stealing an ATM machine. (ATM machines are a prime example, themselves being static robotic emplacements open to the public).
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When will robot parts become significantly cheaper I wonder? That's the main reason why the company, i-robot (the maker of the Roomba series), says that the manufacturing of smaller robots is more efficient, because the cost of building a bi-pedal or quad-ruped machine would be too phenominal for the common joe to purchase. What with all the motors, microprocessors and all.
 
Dan said:
The technology to automate everything has been around for decades, it is the cost and common dignity of doing things for yourself that prevents it, and reasonably so.
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The only thing that has made robots expensive in the past is the computer power required to create such dynamic robots. The servos and parts themselves are not quite so expensive. As more research goes into sensor technology and more accurate programming control, and as computers become smaller and cheaper, such automated filling robots, as well as many other static robots like clothes-folding robots and the like, will become much cheaper as well.

Do not underestimate the ability and application of robotic systems in the future. A revolution in robotics is right around the corner. It will start with simple static robots, home cleaning robots and toys, and will move onward to navigating robots, home servant robots, delivery robots, and autonomous fighting robots. The speed at which we will see this happen shall be nearly imperceptible, but I think thirty or forty years from now we will look back and wonder how we got along without robotic systems, much the same way as people look back today and wonder how they dealt without home computers.
 
Yes, but the 3 million dollar robot is already mass produced and used in factories all over the world. I don't see 3 million dollars worth of labour ever coming out of a machine that pumps gas (and for only one station). A gas station attendant could not earn 3 million dollars (at present value) in his lifetime. A gas station attendant can also do many other menial tasks, like washing your windows, emptying the garbage, or pumping gas at several different pumps. A gas station attendant has no capital cost and very little overhead, and so it always keeps it's original value, unlike a robot which you can only sell at a loss. The robot may have even lower overhead, but like they say, half of nothing is still nothing.
 
Saturos said:
When will robot parts become significantly cheaper I wonder? That's the main reason why the company, i-robot (the maker of the Roomba series), says that the manufacturing of smaller robots is more efficient, because the cost of building a bi-pedal machine would be too phenominal for the common joe to purchase. What with all the motors, microprocessors and all.
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Robotic parts are relatively expensive today because they are not produced in sufficient volume, and much of the computer hardware and software are proprietary, research-oriented behemoths. I-robot is a good example of previously unattainable robotic technologies entering the household. Do you know that the technology of the simplest Roomba robot was once the incredibly expensive technology used by MIT robotics experts during the 1980s? Increased production and a scale-down of microprocessors made things like Roomba a reality for consumers. We will see this trend continue in the future. Robots like ASIMO, now the multi-million dollar brainchild of a single corporation, will be affordable for the average consumer within only a few decades.

Microsoft plans on releasing its own line of household robots by 2012. (These robots will have a differential drive, similar to Roomba, but will also feature a webcam, two robotic arms, and the ability to interface with the home PC). As these simple consumer robots begin entering the marketplace, their market demand and supply will both rise dramatically, making further research and optimization profitable. We will see an explosion in new technologies and applications between today and 2035 which we have not even thought of before, similar to the PC revolution of the 1970's-2000's.
 
theotherguy said:
Robotic parts are relatively expensive today because they are not produced in sufficient volume, and much of the computer hardware and software are proprietary, research-oriented behemoths. I-robot is a good example of previously unattainable robotic technologies entering the household. Do you know that the technology of the simplest Roomba robot was once the incredibly expensive technology used by MIT robotics experts during the 1980s? Increased production and a scale-down of microprocessors made things like Roomba a reality for consumers. We will see this trend continue in the future. Robots like ASIMO, now the multi-million dollar brainchild of a single corporation, will be affordable for the average consumer within only a few decades.

Microsoft plans on releasing its own line of household robots by 2012. (These robots will have a differential drive, similar to Roomba, but will also feature a webcam, two robotic arms, and the ability to interface with the home PC). As these simple consumer robots begin entering the marketplace, their market demand and supply will both rise dramatically, making further research and optimization profitable. We will see an explosion in new technologies and applications between today and 2035 which we have not even thought of before, similar to the PC revolution of the 1970's-2000's.
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Of course, whether this is a good thing is highly questionable. The PC has had just as many negative consequences for society as positive ones, and a "robotics revolution" has the potential to create economic disaster. The economy can't work for people unless there's work to be done.
 
Dan said:
Yes, but the 3 million dollar robot is already mass produced and used in factories all over the world. I don't see 3 million dollars worth of labour ever coming out of a machine that pumps gas (and for only one station). A gas station attendant could not earn 3 million dollars (at present value) in his lifetime. A gas station attendant can also do many other menial tasks, like washing your windows, emptying the garbage, or pumping gas at several different pumps. A gas station attendant has no capital cost and very little overhead, and so it always keeps it's original value, unlike a robot which you can only sell at a loss. The robot may have even lower overhead, but like they say, half of nothing is still nothing.
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That's what I'm saying. It's being used in this application for research purposes. It has a lot of unneeded functionality that can be removed. I have also seen robotic arms with similar functionality for under $50,000. Even the most highly sophisticated industrial arms cost at most $500,000, so I really do not see where you are getting this 3 million figure. Entry level-robotic arms, though they can certainly not perform such tasks, cost as little as $12,000.


EDIT: The article says the robot only costs $111,000.
 
repiV said:
Of course, whether this is a good thing is highly questionable. The PC has had just as many negative consequences for society as positive ones, and a "robotics revolution" has the potential to create economic disaster. The economy can't work for people unless there's work to be done.
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The labor market will shift to jobs in the service industries, clerical duties, and of course, building, repairing, servicing and moving robots. There will always be intense demand for human labor, because for at least the next few hundred years, humans will always be better at many things that require things like pattern recognition and dynamic orders and instructions.
 
theotherguy said:
The labor market will shift to jobs in the service industries, clerical duties, and of course, building, repairing, servicing and moving robots. There will always be intense demand for human labor, because for at least the next few hundred years, humans will always be better at many things that require things like pattern recognition and dynamic orders and instructions.
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What about people that don't have the capability to do that kind of work?
Our high-tech service industries demand far more skill, intelligence and education from workers than the old labour-based economies, but people who don't possess these qualities can still do the filing, cleaning or whatever. As all the grunt work is eliminated, that's only going to widen the rich-poor divide, and potentially create an underclass of people who aren't capable of working.

Personally I think the way the world works nowadays is pretty depressing in many respects and it's only likely to continue along the same lines - go to work in your four-wheeled box, sit at your terminal all day in another box, then get back in your four-wheeled box to go back home and watch TV inside your house box. Way to suck the living out of life.
But then, that's another discussion altogether. I do feel that society has lost a lot due to computers - surveys suggest people are no happier now than they were in the 1950s, and they also had post-war depression to cope with back then.
 
Robots will become the silent 6th estate
 
repiV said:
What about people that don't have the capability to do that kind of work?
Our high-tech service industries demand far more skill, intelligence and education from workers than the old labour-based economies, but people who don't possess these qualities can still do the filing, cleaning or whatever. As all the grunt work is eliminated, that's only going to widen the rich-poor divide, and potentially create an underclass of people who aren't capable of working.
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New, unskilled work will be required to service and supervise the robots themselves. If a robot replaces a burger-flipper, there will now be a new job of robot-flipper-loader, and if a robot replaces the robot-flipper-loader there will always be the robot-flipper-loader-cleaner and so on. Humans will always have a place in the work force because any human, no matter how stupid, will have better judgment than a robot. Robots will become commonplace because of their efficiency, not their skill.

Besides, as the demand for more education arises, our education system and the type of people who come out with it will change. The industrial revolution produced a population capable of operating machinery, the information revolution produced a young population capable of operating computer programs, and the robotics revolution will create a population skilled and versed in the operation and oversight of robots.


repiV said:
Personally I think the way the world works nowadays is pretty depressing in many respects and it's only likely to continue along the same lines - go to work in your four-wheeled box, sit at your terminal all day in another box, then get back in your four-wheeled box to go back home and watch TV inside your house box. Way to suck the living out of life.
But then, that's another discussion altogether. I do feel that society has lost a lot due to computers - surveys suggest people are no happier now than they were in the 1950s, and they also had post-war depression to cope with back then.
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Well if we think about how life was before:
800 BC
Go to work before the sun rises.
Scratch in the dirt for twelve hours.
Go back to the hut (which is made of dung).

1500 AD
Go to work before the sun rises.
Scratch in the dirt for ten hours.
Go to church.
Go back to the hut (which is made of mud).

1750 AD
Get up. You're already at work.
Weave thread on a wooden wheel for twelve hours.
Read the bible.
Go to bed (which is infested with large mites)

1900 AD
Go to the factory on foot or four-wheeled box.
Pull levers for twelve hours.
Go to the filthy rat-infested tenement.

2000 AD
Go to work in the four wheeled box
Sit and stare at a box for six to eight hours
Go home in the four wheeled box
sit and stare at a box again.

2050 AD
A robot drives you to work in a four wheeled box
Sit and stare at a box for six to eight hours
A robot drives you back home
Sit and stare at a box again.

Life has never been that exciting...
 
theotherguy said:
New, unskilled work will be required to service and supervise the robots themselves. If a robot replaces a burger-flipper, there will now be a new job of robot-flipper-loader, and if a robot replaces the robot-flipper-loader there will always be the robot-flipper-loader-cleaner and so on. Humans will always have a place in the work force because any human, no matter how stupid, will have better judgment than a robot. Robots will become commonplace because of their efficiency, not their skill.
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Sure, in the near-term. But further down the line, AI has limitless potential.

Besides, as the demand for more education arises, our education system and the type of people who come out with it will change. The industrial revolution produced a population capable of operating machinery, the information revolution produced a young population capable of operating computer programs, and the robotics revolution will create a population skilled and versed in the operation and oversight of robots.
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The problem is, and the key theme running throughout all these developments, is that none of these revolutions have produced a population that actually understands any of these things. Modern society runs smoothly because of a relative handful of people around the world, and if you took them out of the picture, we'd all be ****ed.
The higher we climb, the more precarious our position becomes. People might be more "enlightened" now, in our narrow definition, but common sense is severely lacking these days, as most people are insulated from life's harsh realities. I'd be willing to bet that people had a hell of a lot more common sense 500 years ago - they had to be self-reliant. Take the guy who had the perfect upbringing, went to all the "right" schools, worked at all the "right" places - he might be very successful as we define it, but you can bet he's thick as pigshit when it comes to life in general.
It's no different to on an individual level - someone with a 200k job has a lot more to lose than someone with a 20k job, to the extent that most people with 200k jobs will be enslaved to their work because they have no other options if they want to maintain that lifestyle.
Ultimately, the question that must be asked is, are we benefitting from our wealth, or are we slaves to it? It's a very fine line.

Well if we think about how life was before:
<snip>

Life has never been that exciting...
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At least in the past, people went to work for 12 hours a day as a means to build their destiny. It had a measurable effect on their lives, on the lives of their community and on life as they knew it. Nowadays, work is just a place you go to provide a service to someone else in exchange for currency - and since knowledge work lacks clearly defined goals, there is the added stress of never actually finishing a task.
We've never had a more luxurious existence, but surely the biggest misconception in the developed world is that seeking pleasure and avoiding pain brings happiness. Happiness comes from having purpose and direction, and noone seems to have that anymore. We're just a bunch of lost souls, struggling to carve out an identity in a world that would be no different if we never existed.
With the world being so large, so globalised, and everything so completely interconnected, how can we make our impact? You could change your local community, but what's the point when your local community is a transient thing because people are always moving around?
People seem to make do through obsession with the lives of celebrities.
 
repiV said:
Sure, in the near-term. But further down the line, AI has limitless potential.
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but if we create sophisticated androids with an AI to rival that of humans, eventually a being that smart would grow wise to it slavery, which would ignite a revolt for a desire to be treated with equal rights to humans, thus defeating the purpose of having robotic machines in the first place. This is going back into that, "Should robots have rights" thing again though. An entirely different topic. Nevertheless, machines = devices created to make life for humans easier. There will always be limitations to what an AI is capable of in this reguard. Not because humans aren't capable of creating a self-learning program, but becuase it would be impractical. Not to say some tard is going to do this someday though. What would be the point of having machines if we have to give them rights. Right?



repiV said:
The problem is, and the key theme running throughout all these developments, is that none of these revolutions have produced a population that actually understands any of these things. Modern society runs smoothly because of a relative handful of people around the world, and if you took them out of the picture, we'd all be ****ed.
The higher we climb, the more precarious our position becomes. People might be more "enlightened" now, in our narrow definition, but common sense is severely lacking these days, as most people are insulated from life's harsh realities. I'd be willing to bet that people had a hell of a lot more common sense 500 years ago - they had to be self-reliant. Take the guy who had the perfect upbringing, went to all the "right" schools, worked at all the "right" places - he might be very successful as we define it, but you can bet he's thick as pigshit when it comes to life in general.
It's no different to on an individual level - someone with a 200k job has a lot more to lose than someone with a 20k job, to the extent that most people with 200k jobs will be enslaved to their work because they have no other options if they want to maintain that lifestyle.
Ultimately, the question that must be asked is, are we benefitting from our wealth, or are we slaves to it? It's a very fine line.
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Humans have always overcome difficulties in the past. Just like when the first automobiles were created and the need for automobile shops and some basic widespread automotive education first came into play, when the robotic revolution reaches fruition and reaches mainstream populartity, there will be a need for robot repair shops as well as basic educational standards focusing into the practice. People tend to learn gradually when a new convenience is introduced and while not everyone will know everything there is to know about robots, just like automobiles, it will slowly become integrated into the young minds of future generations as the education system adapts. Therefore offering basic technical and repair jobs for what was once seen as the domain of MIT scientists and robotic researchers around the world. Take computers for instance, what was once the domain of scientists and uber geeks, now even grandma can easily build her own PC if she wanted to. It's no longer rocket science anymore. Anyone can learn because our current society has begun to adapt to a more technical society. Our educational systems have adapted to our world's technical needs and now even offers basic computer courses for everyone. Some colleges over here in the states even make welders and nurses take mandatory technical computer/PC courses. I know entire families in Jacksonville FL that has some technical PC knowledge, even the grandmother. It's becoming less and less of a geek affair these days. Just like robotics will some day. The real problem though, is that many people don't care about how automobiles or computers work until the damned things break, thus limiting potential career opportunites for their future.
 
That thing is gonna sodomize someone by accident someday. Just look at it.
 
I for one welcome our new petrol-dispensing overlords.
 
i agree with you both (repi and saturos), robots will become way more advanced, but it will be very long till the robots will break free and become their own entity.


bam23....lol


oh and saturos...that comparison of work throughout history is awesome, i'd sig it if it was possible
 
jverne said:
oh and saturos...that comparison of work throughout history is awesome, i'd sig it if it was possible
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Thanks jverne. Glad you liked it! :thumbs: Actually, If not for my PC spec sig, I'd post this myself:

Saturos said:
Take computers for instance, what was once the domain of scientists and uber geeks, now even grandma can easily build her own PC if she wanted to.
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PC building is not as hard as some people make it out to be. Many people are in fact becoming more inclined to PC building and repair themselves. There are many more PC hobbyists these days then there was ten years ago. It's not as much the liking of the stereotypical nerds anymore, and that's a good thing. I predict that when robotics become more mainstream, there will be an uprising of common robot hobbyists as well. That's the beauty of our evolving economic society imo.
 
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