from dominant players like Amazon, and
it’s clear to see why the Tesla Bot could be
an attractive investment for companies
of all shapes and sizes. No downtime, no
absenteeism, no need for staf perks, and,
once the initial investment has been made,
no salaries. Back in 2012, Amazon acquired
Kiva Systems, a Massachusetts-based robotics
company that produces autonomous mobile
robots, to move shelves of goods. Six years
later, FedEx began deploying its own AMRs,
designed by a diferent Massachusetts-based
startup called Vecna Robotics, whilst British
online supermarket Ocado made headlines
with its highly automated fulillment center
in Andover, England, featuring a giant grid of
robots whizzing along metallic scafolding to
deliver groceries to consumers. Automation
on this level is not particularly complex, but
as fulillment centers are overhauled and
redesigned to prioritize machinery over
humans, we’ll only see more robotics and
automation in the future.
Take a look at Flippy, a robot hamburger
lipper and the world’s irst autonomous
robotic kitchen assistant. The robot, designed
by Miso Robotics, lips burgers and has never
taken a vacation day. Flippy grabs unwrapped
burger patties, moves them into position on
a hot grill, keeps track of each burger’s cook-
time and temperature, then alerts human
cooks when it’s time to apply cheese or other
toppings. Again, this is entry-level automation,
and certainly not advanced enough to replace
chefs in Michelin star restaurants, but it’s the
beginning of our new world.