FedEx Robots - NYC mayor "to send them packing"

SunBlueSky

SunBlueSky

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Dec 14, 2018
Messages
90
Roxo the FedEx delivery robot, apparently freaked out de Blasio, NYC mayor, in a promo demonstration. I grew up watching the Jetson's on TV, but are we sure we want to actually live with robots in reality? I also watched Lost in Space - "Danger Will Robinson!!" :D

de Blasio tweeted: "First of all, @FedEx, never get a robot to do a New Yorker’s job. We have the finest workers in the world.

Second of all, we didn’t grant permission for these to clog up our streets. If we see ANY of these bots we’ll send them packing."


https://nypost.com/2019/11/24/fedex-delivery-robots-invade-new-york-city-streets/
https://www.fastcompany.com/9043684...ex-delivery-robot-freaks-out-the-mayor-of-nyc
https://twitter.com/x/status/1198377885809152000
https://thefuturefedex.com
 
Some mayors are more easily freaked out than others

I looked up photos of Roxo the robot. If I were a New Yorker, I'd be embarrassed that my mayor was afraid of these things.
 
Mdlerth said:
I looked up photos of Roxo the robot. If I were a New Yorker, I'd be embarrassed that my mayor was afraid of these things.
Click to expand...

Roxo is cuter than some other robots. The NY Post article linked above, quotes someone comparing it to Wall-E (I did like that robot movie).

“Wall-E out here flexing all over FedEx delivery drivers,” wrote @WhatIsNY while posting a video of one of the boxy cyborgs-on-wheels — part of FedEx’s “SameDay Bot” courier fleet — cutting through a group crossing Crosby Street near Houston Street.

Another video on Reddit showed one of the self-propelled bots spinning on its wheels in Soho.
Click to expand...
 
Saw an article about that this morning. So, New York has an idiot for a mayor. What else is new?
 
One of our local grocery stores was testing out a robot about a year ago. It didn't work out too well. When I was there, it was roaming around and looking for any cleanups necessary in the aisles. I followed it around for about 10 minutes from a distance to see what it was doing. It was getting things wrong all the time. It also had an annoying voice.

Now, on the other hand, a couple weeks ago, DW and I went on an Amazon Fulfillment Center tour locally and it was simply amazing. Their Kiva robots are incredible. The automation taking place is dazzling.

If you have a local fulfillment center, the Amazon tours are free, and they give free swag at the end.

They don't have any more through year end with the holidays and all, but they start again in January. Go here to sign up:

https://www.aboutamazon.com/amazon-fulfillment-center-tours/
 
Re: Theft and damage

I was visiting China and came upon a huge number of packages placed on the sidewalk in front of building. When I asked what they were, I was told that all the packages were deliveries from mail-order places like Alibaba, Aliexpress, and so on. I expressed amazement that they were not stolen. The answer was, "Nobody messes with these packages because the law against theft and tampering is so severe that no one would ever do it."

Imagine the death penalty meted out to Porch Pirates in the USA in less than a week.
 
If the robots are on the sidewalks, there are a lot of ADA concerns. Folks in wheelchairs or needing other assistance get blocked when these things stop to cross a street. Similar bots have already created issues and been removed in other locations.

To me the story is less about who is doing the complaining, but realizing that there may be a real negative impact for those who already have a harder time than most, navigating their cities.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom