Despite spending billions of dollars to automate its warehouses, Walmart is seriously struggling to make even the simplest of robots work.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, even something as straightforward as removing an object from a cardboard box to package it for customers is proving exceedingly challenging. After hiring several robotics companies, Walmart ultimately settled on small robots with wheels for over a dozen of its warehouses.
But the small robots are still unable to remove larger and heavier objects, like bags of dog food. They also break down often, showing that despite plenty of pressure to replace human workers, companies are running into major headwinds in automating real-world workflows in environments like warehouses and logistics facilities.
Executives maintain that Walmart’s automation push will result in fewer warehouse workers, transitioning many of them into managing and fixing robots. However, that transition is reportedly coming at a formidable cost. According to the WSJ‘s sources at Walmart, the costs of paying mechanical and electrical engineers at its automated warehouses eclipse the payrolls of unskilled warehouse workers.
