Orion, driverless package cars, delivery robots, and the future of UPS

[PT Car Washer]

I'm just joking about your post. I'd really like to see the overhead scanners they have in air hubs to be mounted above all of the pkg cars to stop Misloads and divert add/cuts before they get loaded in the wrong cars.

That would be a better use of $ and technology immediately.

Scanning every package before loading into a package car would slow the sort down to a crawl. Why not slow down and give the loaders a chance to do their job correctly now.

 

[10 point]

Scanning every package before loading into a package car would slow the sort down to a crawl. Why not slow down and give the loaders a chance to do their job correctly now.

Whichever comes first. Either one would be the correct way to go. They'll never slow down on their own... at least the management won't.

Does overhead scanners actually pick up very quickly. At least better than diads do.

 

[cheryl]

The driverless truck is coming, and it’s going to automate millions of jobs - Tech Crunch

A convoy of self-driving trucks recently drove across Europe and arrived at the Port of Rotterdam. No technology will automate away more jobs — or drive more economic efficiency — than the driverless truck.

Shipping a full truckload from L.A. to New York costs around $4,500 today, with labor representing 75 percent of that cost. But those labor savings aren’t the only gains to be had from the adoption of driverless trucks.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Scanning every package before loading into a package car would slow the sort down to a crawl. Why not slow down and give the loaders a chance to do their job correctly now.

They had talked about this type of system when I went to driving school in the early 90's. It would be a U-shaped continuous scanning system which would be placed behind each package car. The preloader would hold the package with the label facing up and the scanner would verify that it belongs on that car.

 

[loveland_author]

Why is everyone being so stupid about this? Obviously the new package cars will transform into the delivery robot once it has arrived at the delivery location. The packages will slide down a chute from the robot's abdominal cavity.

 

[brett636]

I believe such automation will be very possible within our lifetimes. Especially in my line of work in feeders. I am just crossing my fingers that this kind of automation won't be my replacement until I am much closer to my target retirement date of 2041. Automating package car operations would be a lot tricker process given all the variables, but rest assured it is being looked into.

A lot of industries are looking to robots and automation to replace human workforces, and I have to ask the question what kind of future will we have when robots are doing everything that humans used to perform for work and compensation? Will we all be sitting at home earning some form of government welfare to make up for the fact that the jobs no longer exist? UPS wouldn't need as many trucks on the road I guess if this were to become a reality because fewer people would have the means to order much anyway. The capitalist in me wants me to believe that this would free up people to learn other careers and skills, but my gut feeling is those new positions will be fewer in number than the number of people replaced driving trucks, working in factories, and doing other tasks. I am not so sure even education level will matter as automated options are being explored to replace people in high level jobs that require a decade or more of schooling like doctors and lawyers. Where we will end up is anybody's guess, but I hope to have myself set by the time the driverless tractor's rubber is meeting the road.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Brett makes an excellent point-----as our population increases, what will happen to these people when they are replaced by a computer or robot?

 

[gman042]

The biggest threat to our jobs is not robots. 3D printing is what will bring all delivery companies to a halt. Why have something shipped when you can purchase what you need and have it appear right in your home in your very own replicator?

 

[oldngray]

The biggest threat to our jobs is not robots. 3D printing is what will bring all delivery companies to a halt. Why have something shipped when you can purchase what you need and have it appear right in your home in your very own replicator?

You forget that even 3D printers require raw materials. They can't just make things out of thin air.

 

[brownmonster]

The biggest threat to our jobs is not robots. 3D printing is what will bring all delivery companies to a halt. Why have something shipped when you can purchase what you need and have it appear right in your home in your very own replicator?

My kid is working to retrofit a robot to do 2 functions to replace a human operator. The part to be attached to the robot is being made with a 3-D printer. I guess someone has to build the robots and printers.

 

[35years]

My kid is at the world championships for high school robotics (FRC & FTC) at this very moment. He also competed last week at the guiness book of world records largest robotics competition... the Vex robotics world championships... UPS had 130 volunteers there, and was a prominent presence with their "Drone Zone". China was second only to the USA in the number of teams.

My high school kid could use Computer aided design (CAD) software to design and build a robot within 6 months that could load a package car utilizing bar code scanners for sorting. The engineering challenges are not that difficult, provided each package car had uniform interior dimensions. We are not that far away from full automation inside hubs, and autonomous vehicles are already being tested. Robotics teams in the schools are experiencing exponential growth and will soon surpass every other sport as far as the number of kids participating.

If UPS does not commit very soon to full automation it will be surpassed by a company that will. Detroit is the precursor.

 

[DriveInDriveOut]

Brett makes an excellent point-----as our population increases, what will happen to these people when they are replaced by a computer or robot?

There is a lot of talk about a universal basic income as a solution to the massive exodus of jobs coming as we approach technological singularity. I, for one, welcome my robot overlords.