$DHL (-0,29%)
@Charmin
@EpsEra
@Simpson
Hello my dears,
I have realized that future sectors are also an exciting topic for the community.
Even at the risk of annoying you with it, I would like to provide all interested parties with exciting reports in alternation and cooperation with the dear @EpsEra to provide exciting reports.
In order to be well informed as a small investor.
You can find the full article at ⬇️.
Here the comment of dear @Charmin is confirmed. In which he wrote that we are still a long way from the sensible use of humanoid robots in industry.
If there is a need for such information, please let me know 👍.
DHL's Head of Information Sally Miller relies on robots for warehouses. She sees great opportunities for improving logistics - but also still sees major hurdles.
WirtschaftsWoche: Ms. Miller, what do you think of humanoid robots?
Sally Miller: Not much. Humanoids cannot generate a meaningful return in our industrial environment, and yet they receive a lot of attention and venture capital money. The investment that goes into humanoid robots then goes into developing products that we could use commercially in our warehouses. Of course, I would like to see more work on products that we can use in our companies instead.
What do you have against robots on two legs?
Their biggest problem is those very legs. The batteries - which have a significant influence on the center of gravity - cannot be accommodated in a wider base low down on the robot, as is the case with the stretch robot from Boston Dynamic. Lighter, smaller batteries are needed. That's why batteries in humanoid robots only last a few hours. But our shifts last eight hours, usually in two or three shifts. Also, the whole focus on a robot being able to stand without falling over is a big waste from our point of view: You don't need legs in the warehouse. Wheels are much better suited. What bothers me the most is that these robots look "scary". That sounds trivial, but the most important thing for us is that our employees like working for us and with our technology. Humanoid robots are rather intimidating - that's what our employees tell us.
It would be the first area in which Elon Musk has invested massive amounts of money and received no return.
If I could buy a humanoid for 10,000 dollars to keep my house clean - that might be a use case. Loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing and folding laundry, vacuuming - that would be a home run. In the household, a robot on legs could rest and recharge itself again and again. And legs also make a lot more sense in a house with stairs, for example to go up to the second floor. Humanoids are good for the consumer market, but not for commercial applications in contract logistics.
How much of an advantage is the use of automation in logistics? The New York Times didn't call today's robots particularly revolutionary...
At our sites, human labor is by far the largest component that we manage. We are, and will remain, a people business. But people under 30 in particular like to work in an environment with modern technology. For example, we have fewer redundancies at sites where we use robots. To be more precise, we are talking about "co-bots" - collaborative robots - i.e. robots that work hand in hand with people. They make our employees' day-to-day work easier by reducing walking distances and relieving them of heavy, repetitive lifting. The potential applications are huge. We would like to see even more on the market. That's why we've signed a contract with Boston Dynamics: They are developing further functionalities for us for their Stretch robot...
...Stretch can already lift parcels out of a truck or container and place them on a conveyor belt. What else should it learn?
It could also be used for order picking, i.e. putting orders together. To do this, he needs to learn more specific gripping skills. Deutsche Post's sister division is also testing Stretch for use in the parcel business.
You can find the full article at ⬇️
