Robots invade the retail world

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You know how in the movie ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day,’ machines have taken over the world and are killing all the humans, and John Connor goes on lots of car/truck/motorcycle chases to change that? He forgot to get rid of the robots that were going to take over the retail industry.

According to Wired, retailers such as Staples, Gap and Zappos are using autonomous robots from a Woburn, Mass., company called Kiva Systems to move goods around their warehouses. The robots go to shelves, load goods from the shelves and move the goods to human operators. They apparently also perform the Nutcracker from time to time.

In the YouTube video above, an unnamed Zappos employee talked about the benefits of using Kiva robots: They can work with the lights off, which saves money, and don’t need heat or AC. They also don’t need lunch breaks.

‘Our productivity is twice what it is in the traditional part of the building,’ he said.

The robots know when their batteries are running low and charge themselves. (Side note: the warehouse pictured in the video would also be an excellent place for a chase scene in a future ‘Transformers’ movie).

Retailers are increasing productivity with the robots, but the Wired article doesn’t mention if the robots will help hurting retailers by making them some money. Maybe they’ll start hitting up the malls when they get off work and help retailers increase their 2009 sales.

-- Alana Semuels