Working from the office in the post-pandemic era can be a really difficult task. We all have those busy days at the office when the work is piled up and there is no time to grab an early lunch. On days like these, how good would it be if someone brought a packet of chips or a bottle of soda to our table? Tech giant Google plans to do just that with its latest fleet of robots. Alphabet Inc. has created a new ‘mechanical waiter’ that can follow simple commands and engage in conversation like a virtual chatbot. Take a look at the video here:
Google is combining the eyes and arms of physical robots with the knowledge and conversation skills of virtual chatbots to help its employees easily fetch soda and chips from the breakroom https://t.co/NIqlYnoy2Ppic.twitter.com/lUFqQbHUmg— Reuters (@Reuters) 17 August 2022
(Also read: This robot can peel a banana without peeling it, and Twitter has questions,
Google is combining the physical prowess of the robot with the conversation training prowess of a virtual chatbot. The resulting robot could help assign employees the task of fetching snacks from the break room with ease. These waiters have an artificial intelligence breakthrough that allows them to perform multiple tasks, a-vis-a-vis robots which can do only one thing. They interpret voice commands, break them down into smaller steps and compare actions with abilities. They are trained using Wikipedia, social media and other pages suitable for learning language technology.
The robot is being designed by ‘Everyday Robots’, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Currently, they are limited to being used for grabbing snacks within the company and are not available for commercial use. “It’s going to take some time before we can really get a firm grasp on the direct business impact,” said Vincent VanHock, Google’s senior director of robotics. Research,
What did you think of this robot that takes voice commands and takes snacks for you? Tell us in the comments.