AI & Automation in Industry, Retail and the home

[weatheriscool]

A.i and robotics in industry and retail/fast food news thread


Taco Bell to Expand AI Ordering at Drive-Thrus
Delegating drive-thru duties to AI frees Taco Bell's human employees to 'focus on front-of-house hospitality,' executives say.
By Adrianna Nine August 2, 2024

After testing its artificial intelligence-powered ordering system at a small selection of drive-thrus around the United States, Taco Bell is electing to roll out the technology on a wider scale. A release published Wednesday says the fast food chain will introduce AI ordering at its drive-thrus in "hundreds" of locations by the end of the year.

Yum! Brands (the company behind Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and The Habit) has been fairly secretive about the "Voice AI" platform that drives its new drive-thru ordering system. We know from a low-yield Bloomberg inquiry that a third-party company developed the platform, and that, based on its name, it uses customers' voices as inputs. Yum! Brands has declined to share publicly how many orders the platform can take without requiring assistance from human employees. Instead, it's emphasized that its AI is "designed to enhance back-of-house operations for team members and elevate the order experience for consumers" by easing human task load and reducing wait times.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/t ... rive-thrus

[wjfox]

You have a habit of creating these overly-long thread titles. And I think this stuff can just go in the general AI/robotics thread.

[wjfox]

Thread renamed and reopened.

[wjfox]

World's first fully automated dental procedure

4th August 2024

Boston-based Perceptive has announced a successful demonstration of the world's first automated dental procedure on a human. Unlike previous machines that are guided or teleoperated by a surgeon, this new system can move and operate entirely by itself using artificial intelligence.

Founded in 2020, Perceptive is aiming to transform dental care by making image-guided robotic restorative dentistry a standard of care. The company is developing technology that could provide superior restorations (e.g. crowns and fillings) to patients at lower cost and in less time, enabling dentists to identify and remove tooth decay more precisely than human eyes and hands, while adding clinical capacity.

Perceptive's latest model integrates AI-driven 3D imaging software with a robotic arm designed to perform dental procedures, starting with restorative dentistry, with unparalleled speed and precision. The proprietary system aims to complete tasks such as crown placements in just 15 minutes, a major reduction from the current method that requires two office visits of at least one hour each.

https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/202 ... cedure.htm

[weatheriscool]

Window-cleaning robots hang out in New York for world-first deployment
By Paul Ridden
August 29, 2024

A 45-story office tower in New York has become the first in the world to deploy the Ozmo automated window cleaning system, where a platform dangled from the roof is home to robots that spritz the glass 3x faster than human cleaning crews.

The Ozmo setup essentially mounts a pair of Kuka robotic arms to a cleaning platform that hangs from the roof of a tower, and equips each with a brush head and water.

There are force sensors in play that help the cleaning bot to judge how fragile a window pane is, and apply the appropriate pressure for an efficient wash. The company reports that the window cleaning bot employs LiDAR sensors for localization and positioning, while artificial intelligence algorithms ensure stability even in gusty conditions.

At the moment, team Ozmo is controlled via a computer operator on the roof of the building, so there's still a role for human workers, but full autonomy is on the cards for the future. This will not only help fill a "growing labor shortage of window cleaners" but will also "keep humans out of harm's way."

https://newatlas.com/robotics/skyline-o ... -new-york/

[weatheriscool]

Task planning framework supports human-robot collaborative furniture assembly
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-09-tas ... ative.html
by Ingrid Fadelli , Tech Xplore

Ensuring that robots can smoothly collaborate with humans in real-world environments is a crucial step towards their large-scale deployment. While some robotic systems are already engaging daily with human agents, for instance at partially automated industrial and manufacturing facilities, human-robot collaboration on everyday tasks remains scarce.

Researchers at University of Padova and Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) in Cambridge have developed a framework that helps to plan tasks that involve human-robot collaboration. This framework, introduced in a paper pre-published on the arXiv server, specifically focuses on tasks that entail the collaborative assembly of complex systems with various underlying components, such as pieces of furniture.

The researchers called their framework DECAF, which stands for Discrete-Event based Collaborative Human-Robot Assembly Framework for furniture. DECAF has various underlying components, including a discrete-event Markov decision process (DE-MDP) model, a HTM description of the assembly process and a Bayesian interference module.

[weatheriscool]

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

Crop-spraying robot is designed to reduce emissions and use less herbicide
By Ben Coxworth
October 23, 2024

The spraying of orchards and vineyards certainly isn't an eco-friendly process, with tractors spewing exhaust as they douse crops in herbicides and pesticides. That's one of the main reasons the electric, autonomous Prospr robot was created.

Manufactured by New Zealand agritech company Robotics Plus, the all-wheel-drive robotic vehicle was unveiled last September at the FIRA agricultural robotics show in California. It's now in commercial use in New Zealand, Australia and the US.

Among other features, the robot sports a refillable spray tank, multiple spray fans, a diesel generator, a battery pack, and four knobby-tired wheels which are each independently driven by their own electric motor.

https://newatlas.com/robotics/prospr-vi ... ing-robot/

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

https://www.reuters.com/technology/arti ... 024-12-16/

Can we like, not give Trump and Elon glazers any attention?

[weatheriscool]

Pudu unveils a life-size walking humanoid robot for warehouse tasks
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
December 20, 2024

https://newatlas.com/ai-humanoids/pudu- ... use-tasks/
Chinese startup Pudu Robotics wants you to put its latest robot to work. The company's new humanoid D9 stands 5.57 ft (1.7 m) tall, can walk upright and carry loads up to 44 lb (20 kg) – and it's "born to serve."
Serve how exactly? Pudu's press release doesn't go into a lot of detail, but mentions how the D9 can perform "ground cleaning tasks using the Pudu SH1," which is an upright floor scrubber and dryer for commercial spaces. It also includes renders of the robot carrying boxes through a warehouse, and stocking shelves in a department store.

In September, the company unveiled the semi-humanoid D7 robot, which operated on wheels. That model was designed for tasks like "handling component sorting in industrial settings, serving and clearing tables in restaurants, and autonomously operating elevators in office buildings." It's safe to assume the newer D9 can handle all of those and then some.

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

The Impact of Industrial Robots on Export Emissions
December 31, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A new study explores the intersection of industrial automation and environmental sustainability, focusing on the role of industrial robots in reducing the carbon intensity of manufacturing exports. The research demonstrates that robots can significantly lower CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process. However, the study also uncovers a complex U-shaped relationship, where emissions initially drop but then plateau, highlighting the need for careful integration of robotics into manufacturing systems. These findings provide critical insights for industries seeking to minimize their environmental footprint while maintaining high productivity.

Additional extract:

The study,… analyzes panel data from 37 countries over two decades.

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069284

For a presentation of study results as published in Science Direct: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ ... 924000493

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Visa partners with AI giants to streamline online shopping

Source: Reuters

Visa (V.N) is partnering with tech heavyweights, including Microsoft (MSFT.O) and OpenAI, to roll out a new platform that lets users delegate their online shopping tasks to AI agents.

While users will set spending limits, the AI agents will do the rest — searching for products, booking vacations or ordering groceries, the payments processor said on Wednesday.

-snip-

A 2020 report by Experian found that one in three customers were only willing to wait 30 seconds or less before abandoning an online transaction.

Visa's new platform, Visa Intelligent Commerce, could help reduce friction by letting AI handle routine tasks while customers only make the final call. The smoother shopping experience could encourage more spending.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail ... 025-04-30/

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Gender Characteristics of Service Robots Can Influence Customer Decisions
May 6, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The hospitality industry can leverage the gender characteristics of service robots to influence customers’ decisions, according to new research from a team in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management.

Service robots with characteristics typically associated with males may be more persuasive when interacting with women who have a low sense of power, according to the researchers. The team also found that “cute” features in the design of robots — such as big eyes and raised cheeks — may reduce the effect of portrayed robot gender on persuasiveness, as male and female customers responded similarly to robots with these “cute” features.

Lavi Peng, doctoral candidate; Anna Mattila, Marriott Professor of Lodging Management; and Amit Sharma, Edward Friedman and Stuart Mann Professor of Hospitality Management — all at Penn State — led this research. Their findings were published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

“Robots can be designed or programed to have human-like features like names, voices and body shapes, which portray gender,” Mattila said. “In addition to robot gender, a consumer’s sense of power — how individuals perceive their ability to influence others or their environment — can also affect how successful a service robot can be in making recommendations.”

The researchers conducted two studies to find how the gender portrayed in service robots could influence customers’ decisions.

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1082891

From the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management:

While investigating these gender dynamics, it is crucial to address potential ethical concerns about perpetuating gender stereotypes through the widespread use of gendered robots (Moradbakhti et al., 2023). To mitigate such concerns, this study explores whether incorporating cuteness features in robot design could reduce these effects.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... a%3Dihub

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Catonator: A robotic approach to clean, efficient concrete cutting
By Joe Salas
June 18, 2025

Imagine a 2.4-ton robotic arm wielding a six-foot-seven (2-m) circular sawblade with a 12-foot (3.7-m) reach, slung onto a truck-mounted hooklift system for easy transport. It's as terrifying as it is awe-inspiring. That's Smart Production's latest creation, built on the back of Kuka's KR Fortec 480 Ultra and called the Catonator.

It's a 6-axis, 4,850-lb (2,200-kg) fully electric, battery-powered cutting machine that can slice, dice, and julienne rock and concrete with 0.1-mm precision. It can also carry up to a 660-lb (299-kg) payload, and its modular toolhead allows easy switching between sawing (with either a 1-m or 2-m saw blade), drilling and bending tools to tackle a variety of jobs from tunnelling to shipbuilding.

https://newatlas.com/robotics/catonator ... ortec-480/