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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BMW's spare parts plant in Dingolfing, for example, which employs around 17,500 people, hand-held barcode readers have been replaced by gloves that scan objects when you put your thumb and forefinger together.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, Interesting) by ShadowSystems on Wednesday December 21 2016, @06:46PM
Ubiquitous cybernetics. I'm totally blind & would love to be able to go to a doctor, lay down on the table, & wake up with a new set of functioning CyberEyes. Or CyberEars, or a CyberHand, CyberArm, CyberLeg, CyberFoot, or any other body part that fails.
Every person on the planet suffering from vision degeneration would line up to at least get retinal implants to correct it, if not just a new pair of CyberEyes entirely.
Anyone even remotely hard of hearing would either get a cochlear implant or an entire set of CyberEars.
Arthritus sufferers could either get the joints augmented to no longer be a hindreence, or just replace the limb entirely.
Gastric bypass surgery would no longer be needed since you could just replace your gut with a cybernetic version that did a better job of extracting the good stuff & didn't cause you pain in the process.
Cancers could be dealt with by infusing the body with nanites to scour the body of the cancerous bits, excise them, rebuild them with your own good DNA, & then either stick around to augment your own immune system or allow themselves to be flushed during your next potty break.
I realize it sounds like it came straight out of ShadowRun 4th edition.
That's because it does.
After getting my hands on plain text copies of the SR4 Anniversary Core Rulebook & reading all the cybernetics possible in the fictional world of 2072, it made me wish like hell it were truely possible right now.
I want working eyes.
If that means letting a doc cut mine out & replacing them with cybernetics that do an infinitely better job than natural ones, sign me up, where do I lay down, & how fast can I expect the healing process to be?
*Sigh*
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @07:02PM
I'm gonna say this is a neat idea, but a better solution would be stem cell regeneration of body parts. Sure the cybernetic gizmos could give you a wider range and sensitivity, but I'd prefer to be all human meat and put on goggles if I want to see other spectra.
(Score: 1) by ShadowSystems on Wednesday December 21 2016, @07:26PM
STEM cells won't work if you can't see at all. They might repair mild vision impairment but not replace total vision loss.
Unless you mean regrowing new eyes from my own cells, but that takes time that might not be feasable.
If your choice is to be blind for the next six months while they grow you a new pair and then hope the new ones work, or simply remove the old ones, insert the new ones, hook them up & you're done in an out patient style procedure, there's no doubt most would choose the second.
If the cyber ones don't work there's a warranty; if the regrown ones don't work it's your own damned cells at fault so tough patooty.
I realize the Essence cost might make me a little less Human to have the cyber implants, but I'll take that ding in order to see again.
Besides, if your vision doesn't work at all then slapping on a set of goggles isn't going to solve it: you need the Direct Neural Interface to let the Jordie LaForge glasses talk to your brain.
=-)p