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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BMW's spare parts plant in Dingolfing, for example, which employs around 17,500 people, hand-held barcode readers have been replaced by gloves that scan objects when you put your thumb and forefinger together.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.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 21 2016, @05:14PM
The monitor that tells you that your posture isn't good for lifting? Screw that. How about a monitor that says, "Hey stupid, that thing is simply to heavy for one (or two) people to lift alone! Get a forklift!"
In the course of a lifetime, I've attempted to lift or move a number of things that were heavier than I thought. Markings on the item would have been good, but some sort of sensor would be great too. "That's not plastic, stupid, it's steel, and it weighs a hell of a lot more than you think - don't even try it!" Or, "Now that you've completed your tunnel into Fort Knox, remember that gold is heavy. Please only steal two bars at a time!"
Some amusing messages might be programmed in, too. "That thing? It's aluminum. Your grandmother could carry that, even after she died! Pick it up you big wuss!"
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:15PM
I'd skip all the lifting and be happy enough with a self propelled engine hoist smart enough to follow me around while staying out of my way.
The Army has been working on this tech for awhile as robot pack mules. Energy density is a problem but someday just like everyone carries around phones, everyone is going to have a robot pet dog follow them everywhere carrying stuff and being a mobile power source and who knows what else. Currently all drones fly but in the future I suspect the legged drones will dramatically outnumber the flying drones. If you've buying 40 pound bags of kitty litter over the internet a nice sloth-like legged drone is adequate and flying it in is a waste of energy.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:51PM
Why is this a problem? I'd imagine that you would realize your mistake as soon as you tried to lift it, as the weight of the object doesn't just kick in after you've finished lifting it and settled into a carrying position.
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(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday December 21 2016, @09:04PM
Discovering how heavy something is can be a real problem. Say it's sitting on the edge of a table. You walk up and snatch it, only to learn to late that it is much heavier than you expected. If you're thinking that should never happen to a man - what about smaller men, women, children, or the aging? A large, healthy young man put the item on the table, setting a booby trap for those who aren't so strong as he.
Away from the civilized setting of a table top - someone has stacked some boxes of equipment somewhere, and sent you to get them. No one warned you that two big strapping men stacked those boxes. You grab one, and it tips off onto you.
But, on a more day-to-day routine, crafstmen working in the field often have to move something. I did. Stuff isn't labeled. I don't know, until I try to move something, how much it weighs. I never hurt myself trying to move something - or maybe I did.
I am, right now, recovering from hernia surgery. Did I create those hernias by trying to do to much once, or a dozen times, or a hundred times?
A working man has always been expected to lift 75 pounds, in the normal course of his work. I've often lifted more. But, items and packages are seldom labled - unless you've worked with a specific item in the past, you don't know what it weighs.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Thursday December 22 2016, @06:48PM
>Say it's sitting on the edge of a table.
If you need to push it off, rather than lift it off, then it should be obvious how heavy it is, and it's entirely your fault for trying to push it off when you already know it's too heavy, proceeding to carry it, and THEN "realizing" that it's too heavy. If you lift it off, you should realize how heavy it is, and drop it back onto the table from 1 mm height. I don't see a problem.
>You grab one, and it tips off onto you.
Again, if you can lift it straight up, you'd know how heavy it is and can stop lifting it. If you can't lift it straight up, then it's obviously too heavy for you, and trying to slide it off and carry it, and THEN "realize" that it's too heavy is being stupid.
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(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday December 22 2016, @09:42PM
Wow. You've got it all figured out, don't you? Where have you been all of my life?