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7 companies that are replacing human jobs with robots
The Japanese lettuce production company will open the world's first farm run entirely by robots in Kyoto, Japan.
The indoor robotic farm will harvest 30,000 heads of lettuce every day.
"The use of machines and technology has been improving agriculture in this way throughout human history," J.J. Price, a spokesperson at Spread, told Tech Insider. "With the introduction of plant factories and their controlled environment, we are now able to provide the ideal environment for the crops."
Many online retailers use robots working alongside humans in warehouses to retrieve and seal orders.
As soon as someone orders something, the bots know exactly where to go.
The petite Locus robots, which just launched at Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment provider for major online brands including Zara and Bonobos, are expected to increase warehouse productivity by 800%.
"We developed a system where the robots do all the walking," Quiet Logistics CEO Bruce Welty told Tech Insider. "As retailers continue to exceed expectation around next-day shipping, they're going to look to technology to help them provide an even faster turn-around."
The new 5-foot-tall robot can speak seven languages and knows the location of everything in a Orchard Supply Hardware warehouse, a chain owned by Lowe's. The store is testing the bots in a California location.
When you approach an Oshbot, it uses facial-recognition technology to identify you as a human, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Hi, I’m Oshbot," it greets you in a monotone voice. "I can help you find things in the store. What are you looking for?"
After you select what you want on its touch screen, it wheels away and asks you to follow.
Best Buy's Chelsea location in Manhattan is testing a yellow robot named Chloe that sits behind glass. When customers enter in a movie they want on a kiosk, the bot (which really looks more like a giant, automated arm) grabs what they need in 30 seconds.
It completely eliminates the need to search through Best Buy's shelves, Business Insider reports.
This futuristic hotel chain employs robotic staff that will carry guests' luggage, deliver laundry, clean the rooms, and make coffee. The automated arms can move around anywhere in the hotels.
"A lot of technology can be clunky and impersonal," Yotel's operations director Nigel Buchanan told Business Insider. "We don’t think of tech like that. We use it to drive efficiencies."
Yotel has locations in London, Amsterdam, and New York City.
A German factory manned largely by robots will make its first 500 pairs of Adidas running shoes this year, Reuters reports.
Called the "Speedfactory," it will still use humans for parts of the assembly process. 10 people will work during the pilot phase, but Adidas says it's working toward full automation.
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