Robots to deliver instructions to employees based on analyses of big data and the workers’ routines
Hitachi’s double-arm robot during a demonstration at a warehouse in Chiba prefecture, Japan.—Bloomberg News
“Work efficiency improved by 8% in warehouses with the new artificial intelligence program, compared to those without them,” a Hitachi spokeswoman said. “The program can examine an extremely large amount of data to provide the most efficient instruction, which is impossible for human managers to handle.”
Hitachi last month unveiled a fast-moving two-armed robot which it says may replace humans in performing basic functions like retrieving items in warehouses.
Its new artificial intelligence can also analyze how an employee, judging from past experience, tries new approaches to work in an effort to improve efficiency, and can choose the best course of action, the company said. “The AI automatically analyzes the outcome of these new approaches, and selects processes which produce better results and applies it to the next work order,” Hitachi said in a statement.
Tests showed that artificial intelligence could accurately issue work orders for employees at a warehouse, instructing them on the most efficient route to pick up a product on a shelf and complete their duties.
Source: Wall Street Journal
