How many robots does it take to run a grocery store?
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited in automation and robotics threads as the example of a warehouse built robot-first.
What it is
Tom Scott tours Ocado's automated grocery warehouse, where thousands of robots move boxes on a grid called the Hive, and asks whether they are individual robots or a hive mind.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2021 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Recommends cbm-vic-20 · 2021-07 · on “Intrinsic, a new Alphabet company”
Tom Scott had a good video a couple of weeks ago about a grocery packing warehouse that has a sophisticated picking network: [this video]
Recommends cecilpl2 · 2022-01 · on “Automation is reaching more companies”
I thought this was an interesting insight into what a fully-automated grocery store looks like. And also wild to think about how different things are when you design them for automation from the ground up. [this video]
Cites PeterisP · 2021-07 · on “How many robots does it take to run a grocery store? [video]”
Ha - the production setup includes Xbox Kinect components - right when the employee says "3d cameras" at 2:26 [this video]
Cites handmodel · 2021-08 · on “Tesla Announces a Humanoid Robot “Tesla Bot””
[this video] I feel like a lot of factories are going to go in this direction. Lots of complex automation but ultimately very simple mechanisms with a strong framework to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Cites handmodel · 2021-08 · on “Tesla Announces a Humanoid Robot “Tesla Bot””
I've been wrong many times before but still have trouble believing this would be more efficient than just having two separate buildings. Even in places where land is very expensive. How many dark stores would you have to run in a city like Boston to get the same efficiency you could get from a signle warehouse with a similar system to this?: [this video] And if you insist on doing that multi-use concept - it still seems like a robot on wheels and with much different than human arms would be more efficient.
Cites SideburnsOfDoom · 2021-10 · on “What’s the Point of 15-Minute Grocery Delivery?”
> I don't think Ocado has a dense enough network of local warehouses. yes, AFAIK, Ocado relies on a few large highly automated warehouses. (1) The main issue seems to be that the level of automation is so high that a fire is not noticed soon enough. This has happened twice. (2) 1) [this video] 2) [LINK] [LINK]
Cites BingoAhoy · 2021-10 · on “Pre-industrial workers had a shorter workweek than today's (1991)”
I think your vision makes sense. It might not be optimal currently but as A.I., automation, and other technologies advance (Fusion fingers-crossed) I can see it becoming plausible and even desirable over the "pure-ish" capitalist economy we currently have. Just to showcase some of the automation prototypes that makes me a hopeful believer: [this video] [LINK] [LINK] 3-d printed homes too
Cites AussieWog93 · 2021-12 · on “Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robot can move 800 heavy boxes per hour”
>rethinking the whole process instead yields a much bigger boost. Reminds me of a Tom Scott video where he checks out the Ocado warehouse in the UK: [this video] It's crazy; they've rethought the entire system to have it navigable by machine.