back to article Rise of the machines: Silicon Valley hardware store to deploy ROBOTS for customer service

A California hardware store has decided to bring everyone's dystopian nightmares to life by using robots to perform basic customer service. Home repairs chain Orchard Supply Hardware, a subsidiary of Lowe's, plans to trial a device dubbed the OSHbot, a mobile robot capable of fielding customer requests and guiding DIYers to …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There will come a time when the robot can outperform a meatbag at these kinds of tasks. The multi-language capability is one aspect which I think is a real winner for some parts of the world.

    The main challenge will be exceeding the raw speed at which humans can converse, including body language, empathy, real world experience and all the other aspects that robots don't yet have.

    It will come, but I think for the moment, these machines will be an annoyance to most customers after the novelty has worn off.

    However, I applaud their efforts. We won't get to that turning point until someone at least tries.

    1. Allan George Dyer
      Paris Hilton

      Language capability?

      I suspect speech recognition is merely a difficult problem, compared to deciding which language to recognise the speech in. Of course, it could always fall back to selection from a list, producing a new circle of Hell:

      "Je suis désolé, je ne reconnais pas votre langue, si vous voulez que je parle français, soit un.

      Nasikitika, sikuweza kutambua lugha yako, kama ungependa mimi kuongea Kiswahili, wanasema mbili

      對不起,我不認識你的語言,如果你想我講廣東話,說三

      ...

      I am sorry, I did not recognise your language, if you would like me to speak English, say Seventy Nine."

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      "The main challenge will be exceeding the raw speed at which humans can converse, including body language, empathy, real world experience.... "

      Some stores I visit, a ZX81 could out perform the staff.

  2. Ketlan
    Alert

    I foresee trouble

    This is all very well, and bound to happen, but there is nothing in place to support those who lose their jobs thanks to these kinds of innovations. Remember all the talk of extended leisure time during the early days of the computer revolution? Nothing has changed to accommodate the needs of those placed on forced leisure due to AI and robotic advances. I'm no Luddite but I see trouble ahead if we don't seriously consider ALL aspects of these changes.

    1. Rick Brasche

      Re: I foresee trouble

      Ironically, it was at this very store where I watched a checkout clerk, an actual employee, reduce a young Hispanic girl to tears because he spoke to her in Spanish which she did not understand because she was born "here" and he was saying "you can't be Mexican, you can't be Latina if you don't speak Spanish. You can't call yourself Hispanic if you can't speak Spanish" etc.

      Don't know if this tool thought he was being flirty but the lady was upset that she was being called out about her Mexican soccer team jersey as if she was some sort of failure for not speaking the language of her parents' birthplace...and with three of us in line speaking to the manager, and one guy almost getting to blows against this arsehat, well, he's no longer working there.

      With "service" like that, robots are not to blame for being the best choice of replacement.

      In fact, I suspect there are no actual replacements occurring. the robots are enhancers-making the staff there more efficient. Store isn't gonna hire more people, so a robot helping out makes those who are there capable of doing more important stuff.

      Like not being a racist or cultural elitist and p*ssing off your customers.

    2. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: I foresee trouble

      I foresee trouble simply with people messing with the robot for entertainment purposes.

      1. Ugotta B. Kiddingme

        Re: I foresee trouble

        one robot sneaks up and tags the other robot with a "kick me" sign in 3... 2... 1...

    3. Bunbury

      Re: I foresee trouble

      I'm thinking the beancounters in charge of this store couldn't give a monkey's about all aspects of these changes. It's the financial benefit to their company that will be the thing they concern themselves with.

  3. i like crisps

    "BIDDY, BIDDY, BIDDY, The grout is in aisle three"

    ...If it looks and sounds like Twiki then the humans can go fuck themselves.

  4. Dick

    Just won't be the same :(

    Takes all the fun of "Hi, do you have small nuts?" or "Hi, do you have large nipples?"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just won't be the same :(

      Yes, but I wonder how it will cope with the "long weight" or a "bag of holes."

      1. Swarthy

        Re: Just won't be the same :(

        Or the gallon of plaid paint?

  5. frank ly

    I notice the store was empty ...

    ... except for the 'customer' and the robot. Imagine that thing going down an aisle with confused shoppers and bored kids in it.

    1. Fungus Bob
      Terminator

      Re: I notice the store was empty ...

      The store was empty because there was a fucking creepy robot running around.

  6. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    Maybe useful?

    First off, I still don't think I'm that happy about these; there's a jobs shortage, and eliminating further jobs is not a positive thing.

    That said, I was all ready to slag off trying to tell some robot what I'm looking for (I have an awful time with these types of systems, and if it came to telling some robot what I want and following it around the store until it gets it right, I'd just mail order my stuff). But showing it a door hinge or something and having it go to the door hinge isle might actually be useful.

  7. ckm5

    Brilliant, let's train the humans to follow the robots. The first phase of the revolution is moving along nicely.

  8. Rick Brasche

    awesome, right down the street!

    I'm gonna have to see how well this works...and find out just how poorly the 3 Laws are implemented....muahahaha!

  9. Captain DaFt

    Here's the plan...

    I've put the store's contact info into my calendar with a reminder in three months time.

    I've always wanted a robot for beverage fetching purposes, and this looks like a chance to get one dirt cheap!

  10. Jes.e

    Completely Autonomous?

    Voice recognition is mostly doable.

    Optical object recognition seems another kettle of fish.

    It may be able to do simple things but if I bring in a broken bit of plumbing to see a replacement a computer is going to be out of its depth.

    Somewhere in India I suspect there will be human wetware backend fallback driving the interactions to keep the system from replying "I don't understand" or "I don't know what that is" too many times.

    Of course these guys themselves will be running from menus so..

    Anyway that's how I would design a system that runs with imperfect information.

    A disguised bit of outsourcing perhaps?

    Or is it an implied threat to labor unions?

    1. Chozo
      Joke

      Re: Completely Autonomous?

      Voice recognition is mostly doable....

      Ok, I'll have Fork Handles please.

  11. Jamie Jones Silver badge

    Over engineering solutions

    No surprise that their 'customer' for their toy is um.... themselves. I wander what those on the coal face actually think?

  12. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    One might expect

    that with all the big data flying around about past purchases, the robot would be able to extrapolate the customer's needs more closely than might be desirable:

    Visit 1: "I'd like some paint." "Certainly sir, please follow me to the paint aisle."

    Visit 2: "I forgot..." "A paintbrush? And some brush cleaner? If sir would follow me?"

    Visit 3: "I, er..." "Contract Decorator to aisle three please!"

  13. Zmodem

    its probably a metaphor for 70 year olds who have had votox

  14. Diogenes

    minimum wage

    I note that this is in area where it proposed to raise the minimum wage. - and we all know that raising the minimum wage does not reduce the numbers of jobs available - Hillary told me only just last week.

  15. ebergh

    The demise of the Hardware store

    Back in the 60's, OSH was THE Hardware store you wanted to have nearby. They had all the esoteric bits and pieces that most stores lacked, and you could still buy nails by the pound, bolts and screws individually (not packaged three to a pack), and the employee's knew how things worked and how to fix them! Then sadly, they were bought up, first by Sears, and later by Lowes. Each year saw fewer and few items on the shelves, more and more prepackaged widgets, and fewer and fewer people working out on the floor - and those who were left seemed to know less and less.... I guess it IS the perfect environment for introducing the robotic store clerk. It won't be any worse than what it is replacing now, but what a shame to see such a fine institution so debased.

  16. Fihart

    You mean they don't already ?

    Just visit a McDonalds.

  17. naive

    Where are IBM and others in this ?

    This kind of applications seems to be the future of computing, while traditional IT has undergone so much commoditization that it is hard to earn a dime on anything with a powerplug and a cpu. Intelligent robots could really make the life of people better. Perhaps many people would be happy to pay 10K $ for a robot which cleans, drives their car and keeps the fridge stocked with six-packs without complaints. Perhaps in 10 years ?.

  18. Bunbury

    I..........Said

    COULD

    YOU

    DIRECT

    ME

    TO

    YOUR

    BASEBALL

    BATS

    PLEASE

    YOU

    HEAP

    OF

    JUNK

  19. Graham Marsden
    Coat

    Can you show me where to find razors?

    By your command...

  20. Phil_Evans

    Mind you're Bs and Qs ?

    This is great news. Jobs shortage or no, I would be deliriously happy to be stranded in the power tools section of my hardware store whilst an e-gopher retrieved what I wanted from a shelf in the depths of 'plumbing'. Most efficient warehouses use this tech today, so why not in a store?

    As for the 'eye contact and empathy' comments, I for one won't miss trying to force those herculanian tasks on most of the 19-yr old dudes and dudesses I try to engage with in such places.

  21. Dan Paul

    Boycott this hardware store and others like it!

    These people are not inovators, they are cheapskates or worse!

    The ONLY reason why they are using a robot is because they will not pay to have a competent human being that would have to be trained. I did the same kind of job in a HVAC warehouse as a kid and it set me on the path to a rewarding career in mechanical engineering.

    There is a shortage of jobs that are full time and pay enough to have a family and own a home.

    There are too many people working part time, no health benefit jobs because of employment & tax regulations rewarding this behavior from CHEAP EMPLOYERS.

    Ban any form of automation that reduces the number of workers, like unattended "tellers" in grocery stores, or other "Robots in Retail".

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Re: Boycott this hardware store and others like it!

      Today's word is Luddite.

      Still, sure you are happy to have the price of goods double or triple or even go up 10 fold for your utopian world.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Boycott this hardware store and others like it!

        Let me qualify that for you.

        Take your ideal world and something basic, say like a potato.

        Well first forget any automated seed planters, they are taking up the jobs of 10 farm labourers. Then crop sprayers need to be banned, as that could be done by hand, then scrap the tractors, as 20 or 30 farm hands could do that job. Now walk it to the processing plant. Remove the conveyor belts, washing machines and sorters, another good 20 to 30 jobs there. Now that bagging machine, a good 20 or 30 there.

        Now they all need to be carried to the shops by hand, good job for a good 1/2 dozen burly blokes.

        There, now you can employ your extra couple of staff to sell a 1kg bag of spuds for about £20.

        Now lets get to cars. How's that £100K family hatchback going?

        1. Rabbers

          Re: Boycott this hardware store and others like it!

          I sort of agree with the sentiments in the 'Boycott this' line.

          I think that from my point of view, the Supermarket was where me and all my mates worked our way through college, and the first part of University. Clearly, we're not a thick bunch, but it's clear that a lot of people work full time at such places, because of lack of qualifications, ability to commute, or plain lack of aptitude or attention span for roles that would improve their earnings potential.

          Now we have the automated checkouts, you can see that one trained Human, can manage issues on up to eight of these machines.

          I take the point, that "Lost all faith" puts forward about the advances already made, but surely these robots will in time be able to perform every menial task.

          The problem is that I don't think that this will result in Utopia for most people - I already find this all somewhat worrying. The people that I used to work with WILL NOT be able to reskill into jobs that require academic skills, or abstract thought.

          So think of a low-end, minimum wage job, and suggest the ones that can't be undertaken by robots - retail jobs, bar work, warehousing, cleaning - all gone. Looks like driving's gone too - that's a good wage, but what about all the HGV and Taxi drivers, bus drivers etc.

          Long story short, where do all the people work? There's not much point trying to solve the problems of the consumers if all the people are living in cardboard shanty towns outside of Manchester!

          Mark

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Meh

      Re: Boycott this hardware store and others like it!

      > The ONLY reason why they are using a robot is because they will not pay to have a competent human being that would have to be trained.

      I have to admit to being a bit conflicted on this point.

      On the one hand, as things currently work, people need jobs and some people low in the brainpower department need low brainpower work.

      On the other hand, this is the 21st Century and I would think that we could find something more interesting and worthwhile to do for these people than stacking shelves and retrieving nails and screws for customers.

  22. GumboKing
    Terminator

    Couldn't possibly go wrong

    Human you have not returned that item to the correct bin!

    You have 5 seconds to comply!

    Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!

  23. Lamont Cranston

    Unexpected item in bagging area.

    How do they cope when I child attempts to hitch a ride on their back, or tip them over?

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