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posted by on Wednesday December 21 2016, @04:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the customers-who-aren't-idiots dept.

What one piece of technology would most improve your working life?

Chances are it wouldn't be a glove. But car workers in Germany are now using smart gloves that not only save time but prevent accidents as well.

It is an example of how tech-enhanced humans are fighting back against the seemingly unstoppable rise of the robots.

At BMW's spare parts plant in Dingolfing, for example, which employs around 17,500 people, hand-held barcode readers have been replaced by gloves that scan objects when you put your thumb and forefinger together. The data is sent wirelessly to a central computer.

The hi-tech gloves allow workers to keep hold of items with both hands while scanning more quickly. While this may only save a few seconds each time, BMW reckons it adds up to 4,000 work minutes, or 66 hours, a day.

It's not just gloves; the article gives several examples of cool technology that help workers.


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  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday December 21 2016, @04:40PM

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Wednesday December 21 2016, @04:40PM (#444335) Journal

    The gloves sound good. But I'd like more. What about a skullcap that can read brainwaves to figure out what key you want to press, or where you want to touch the screen? Doesn't have to be a skullcap, maybe such a thing could be built into smart glasses or a headset. Any place on the body where signaling can be done could work. Well, any place that leaves the hands free for other things.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @05:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @05:40PM (#444365)

    That is AWESOME, or EVEN BETTER:

    A machine that can be taught exactly what you would have done had you been there and that can carry out that job without you!

    Genius!

    PS: The solution to automation is not to turn people into mindless robots...