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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BMW's spare parts plant in Dingolfing, for example, which employs around 17,500 people, hand-held barcode readers have been replaced by gloves that scan objects when you put your thumb and forefinger together.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: 2) by tynin on Wednesday December 21 2016, @05:23PM
I'm tired of traffic, tired of car repairs, and otherwise just plan tired of all things related to transportation. No more getting sat in the aisle seat beside the restroom on the plane. No need for an entire STS program to let me go visit the moon. And practically roll out of bed and be at work. Give me full blown teleportation for all my travel needs, and I want it yesterday! I'll even settle for community hubs for teleportation, until we get it right and it is just another app on your phone.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Wednesday December 21 2016, @06:10PM
A phone? How quaint. Don't worry, that functionality will be built in to your Borg implants.
(Score: 2) by tynin on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:18PM
I like it. I'm tired of being concerned about where my phone, keys, and wallet are located. Borg me up!
(Score: 1) by butthurt on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:25PM
I wonder where comment #444444 is.
(Score: 2) by tynin on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:29PM
Interesting... it seems to have teleported someplace else. ;-)
How in the world did you even notice?
Assuming journal posts increment the same comment value, and that you can delete your journal entries... that could be the answer.
(Score: 2) by tynin on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:33PM
I'm wrong, journal posts have a different counter.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Thursday December 22 2016, @10:21AM
You were right the first time; there is a single cid field in the comments table; it is NOT NULL and AUTO INCREMENTs. The comments table also contains a sid field which identifies the story, poll, or journal to which it is attached. For a little more background, see my earlier comment/reply to this story [soylentnews.org].
Hope that helps!
Wit is intellect, dancing. I'm too old to act my age. Life is too important to take myself seriously.
(Score: 1) by butthurt on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:48PM
I noticed when I made comment #444449.
/comments.pl?sid=17091&cid=444449#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
Comments to journal entries share the same counter as those to stories; the journal entries themselves have a separate counter. I searched a few of the recent topics but didn't find #444444.
(Score: 3, Informative) by martyb on Thursday December 22 2016, @09:50AM
Take a look at the SoylentNews API, specifically the comment_ops [soylentnews.org]. The returned JSON structure contains, among several other items, a "sid" field (think story id -- kinda, sorta). In this case, the returned value is 17082. Plug that into the standard comment access link and you will find comment #444444 can be found at: https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?sid=17082&cid=444444 [soylentnews.org].
Wit is intellect, dancing. I'm too old to act my age. Life is too important to take myself seriously.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @06:23PM
Fullscale Teleportation from anywhere to anywhere? Great. Now how do you stop thieves from just teleporting into your home? Or nutjobs from teleporting bombs into malls, nightclubs, government buildings, schools, hospitals, etc..
(Score: 2) by tynin on Wednesday December 21 2016, @08:17PM
Sort of like Air Traffic Control, but for Teleportation. Likely something AI controlled with a set of rules. You need to have your Teleportation Plans on record and approved by the TTC, and they stay good for X number of days before needing to be re approved. It would have to be controlled by some central authority to avoid exploits that you mentioned.
(Score: 1) by tbuskey on Saturday December 24 2016, @02:05PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Crowd [wikipedia.org]
Larry Niven did a whole bunch of stories exploring the implications of teleportation. Even curing cancers.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday December 21 2016, @10:44PM
Actual teleportation will probably consist of sending plans for building objects from raw materials--reminiscent of 3-D printing, but with atom-by-atom control. Boring!
/comments.pl?sid=15241 [soylentnews.org]
If we could somehow teleport matter itself, sci-fi fashion, that could become a plentiful source of energy: just teleport hot matter from the Sun's interior to Earth and use it to boil water (Sun tea?). If we could teleport hot matter from the Sun's interior to wherever we pleased, it would be the non-polluting super-weapon we've all be wishing for. If we could teleport ourselves to the surface--or the interior--of a large black hole, that could offer exciting travel possibilities beyond teleportation itself: going to another universe, or to the past:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/time-travel3.htm [howstuffworks.com]
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday December 22 2016, @03:15AM
If we could teleport an object slightly upward every so often, that would be an anti-gravity device. Brassières would no longer be needed, and the obese would no longer be overweight. We could all unleash our inner Baron Harkonnen.