Latest developments and curiosities in the world of technology
Panasonic introduces robotic checkout at a grocery store in Osaka
Panasonic introduces robotic checkout at a grocery store in Osaka
The company is currently piloting the system at a Lawson outlet in Osaka, Japan, where Panasonic is headquartered. For now, shoppers using the robotic baskets must manually scan their purchases. But by February, Panasonic aims to fit each item in the store with an electronic tag.
cnbc.com
Jobs that might not exist in 10 years time:
- Truck driver
- Taxi driver
- Checkout staff
- 50% of local cleaning staff - reaplced by cleaning drones controlled from afar e.g. an operator in Africa controls a cleaning drone in a London hotel
- ?




Hey, interesting list!
I think trucking might assume new forms in some environments, but that trad trucking (like our mega road trains here in Australia) will persist for a while yet in some places, due to limited infrastructure and human/legal accountability requirements. They even operate in places there is no telco coverage. You wouldn't be able to remote anything there!
Checkout: (as in a hotel?) not so sure I agree. There has been consumer backlash in some commercial sectors which has seen a return to a focus on service, rather than self-service. Some people are willing to pay considerably more and offer good brand loyalty for it. That's your middle level market, rather than baseline, though.
Drone cleaning: drones are actually really costly to operate from afar and require large teams of expert people to run and maintain them. And they still won't offer the detailed attention to a living environment that a person would, on the ground. This scenario of remote piloted cleaning also invites new security risks that will not appeal to many businesses and customers. (Imagine the hacks? And the privacy issues?)
OTOH, imagine an entire room which is a basic budget space that is designed to 'reset' itself with new coverings and a quick self-cleanse? The whole room is a robot! That could work! (Inventors, go, go!).
I'm imagining a multipurpose room wherein each piece of furniture can fold into the walls to save space. Maybe also a Murphy bed that steam-cleans its sheets?
Yeah! I can see it too!
Barcode readers were flakey and sometimes forced people to intervene when they were first introduced. The promise of the cost savings overcame the initial bumps and the high costs of often unreliable barcode readers at every checkout counter.
Drones will be unable to do all the tasks to begin with. I don't anticipate a drone that can make a bed, etc. However I do anticipate a drone that can do and initial sweep through a room, pick up towels, etc. then vacuum and clean the toilet, bath and shower after the human cleaner has done the tasks the drone can't do.
I have a Roomba and it takes care of 75% of the effort and time cleaning the floors in my house. Not perfect, but better than me having to do 100%.