Posts Tagged ‘robots’

Old people and robots

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011


Terrifying. John B. Carnett

Japan has a rapidly aging population, but not enough home care workers to help elderly folks with daily tasks. So Japanese engineers, true to form, began building robotic home care workers.

Only problem is… old folks don’t want to be cared for by robots. It’s… kind of creepy. While cute animal-themed robots are selling reasonably well, the creepy humanoid models are being put on the shelf. (Until they’re reactivated in the Great Robot Wars begin in 2033, of course.)

Now the helper robot industry is shifting focus from fake people to smart furniture – like a wheelchair that can transform itself into a bed.

Technology has always been blamed for eliminating jobs – why pay a person to do what a machine can do faster, better, and cheaper? But Japan’s situation is a little different. It’s not eliminating jobs for willing workers; it’s creating workers to fill necessary jobs.

Hmm… wonder what kind of career track can an entry-level home healthcare worker can look forward to?

Your Clickable Drugstore, Complete With Robots

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Soap.com will revolutionize, digitize your drugstore experience.

  • The owners of Diapers.com, a company that turns an impressive profit selling, yes, diapers, have decided to take on all commonplace household products digitally by launching Soap.com this summer.
  • Although big sites like Drugstore.com and Amazon.com already offer online drugstore products, Soap.com believes its strong grasp on logistics will set it apart.
  • Soap.com possesses a unique warehouse technology that includes robots which determine the most efficient way to pack products. They also physically retrieve the items from the warehouse shelves.
  • Orders arrive within two days, and shipping is free.

Facts & Figures

  • Diapers.com sold $182 million worth of diapers and baby products in 2009 and anticipate $300 million in 2010.
  • Soap.com expects to carry 40,000 products by the end of the year.
  • Currently, the offline drugstore market generates $125 billion. The online market makes $8 billion.

Best Quote

“These are products you bought a thousand times before and don’t need to see or touch them again.  These are chores.” - Vinit Bharara, Cofounder of Quidsi, which owns Diapers.com