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Comment Re:Bidding Contracts are rigged. (Score 1) 82

Then, when the do pick the right company to do it, all the others will contest the hell out of it. I happened to me, my company created the program and was doing satisfying work, and making budget, but each time it would get contested by companies that didn't even have the basics to support it at the time. Technicalities caused us to loose out to another company, and they sub'd it out back to us. However, they caused so much red tape for us, and pissed off the customer that the partnership all fell apart. We only lost the re-compete because the customers that said they loved us, and hated them didn't make that clear enough to the contract judges.
Robotics

Welcome To Walmart. The Robot Will Grab Your Groceries. (wsj.com) 46

Walmart is testing back-of-store automated systems that can collect 800 products an hour, 10 times as many as a store worker. From a report: In the backroom of a Walmart store in Salem, N.H., is a floor-to-ceiling robotic system that the country's largest retailer hopes will help it sell more groceries online. Workers stand on platforms in front of screens assembling online orders of milk, cereal and toilet paper from the hulking automated system. Wheeled robots carrying small baskets move along metal tracks to collect those items. They are bagged for pickup later by shoppers or delivery to homes. Walmart is one of several grocers including Albertsons and Kroger that are using automation to improve efficiency in a fast-growing but costly business that comes with a range of logistical challenges.

The backroom robots could help Walmart cut labor costs and fill orders faster and more accurately. It also could address another problem: unclogging aisles that these days can get crowded with clerks picking products for online orders. A store worker can collect around 80 products from store shelves an hour, estimated John Lert, founder and chief executive of Alert Innovation, the startup that has worked with Walmart to design the system dubbed Alphabot. It is designed to collect 800 products an hour per workstation, operated by a single individual, Mr. Lert said. Workers stock the 24-foot-high machine each day with the products most often ordered online, including refrigerated and frozen foods. Fresh produce is still picked by hand in store aisles.

Comment I've considered it (Score 1) 134

It seems like I'm paying double for just internet. Once through Spectrum, the second through Sprint. I don't really use the internet at home though when I'm not there (other than Dropbox pulling down photos from my phone). What would be awesome is if there was a device that I drop my phone into when I get home that would use it to provide internet to my computer network and possibly even power up land line phones. I guess I could use a Raspberry Pi to wireless gateway my lan using my phone's hotspot.

Comment Re:What about repair and maintenance people? (Score 1) 224

Ug...again...really? Does this question have to come up everytime. When I see these car free articles and this question always comes up, my first though is "It isn't a total band. Not everything can be done by bicycle (but damn near it). The work truck industry will be fine. It will just be less cars to fight with in traffic, and also easier to find a parking spot." We are trying to de-emphasize the need for personal automobiles to transport 1 or 2 people short distances. Public transportation will still be around, delivery trucks will still be around.

Comment Re:This is no roadway (Score 1) 163

You try getting your neighbors to put these in over the sidewalks, I have a hard enough time just getting them to trim the bushes away.

These make a lot of sense for sidewalks, they melt snow when needed, and then collect energy the rest of the time. Considering nobody bothers to shovel sidewalks anymore, we only have to gain from this.

Comment Re:Actually this is a good thing for the autopilot (Score 1) 379

Something I'm not hearing is at what time of day it was and what direction the car was going. Something from my early driving days that impacted me hard was driving through my neighborhood (tight, narrow, curvy streets with both sides of parking) in the evening and the sun was right infront of me. Speeds at about 10~15mph (military housing) and still only had about 2 seconds to react to a pickup truck coming out of the glare. Literally, the glare was so bad it was like somebody walking through a heavy bead curtain infront of me.

I was still going too fast for the conditions. My speed should have been dead slow, but the other guys conditions wouldn't be the same as mine in this case and thus may have been driving.

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