Robust AI’s Carter Pro robot is designed to work with, and be moved by, humans
Two things are immediately notable when watching the Carter Pro robot navigate the aisles of the demo warehouse inside Robust AI’s San Carlos, California,
Two things are immediately notable when watching the Carter Pro robot navigate the aisles of the demo warehouse inside Robust AI’s San Carlos, California, headquarters. The first is the shelving units: standardized, modular, and off-the-shelf. The wire frames will look familiar to anyone who has spent time in warehouses, and that’s certainly by design.
The second thing isn’t a visible element of the wheeled robot itself, but instead how humans in the space interact with their automated co-worker. As Carter cruises the halls, Robust employees pick it up and move it around. It sounds like a small distinction, but it’s notable in this world where humans and robots work side by side.
The question of safety hasn’t been raised with enough regularity in stories covering the rise of humanoid robots in the work setting. While some companies have moved beyond the days of industrial arms tucked away in safety cages, there’s always a risk when humans are working alongside an autonomously moving metal system. Heck, electric forklifts have been around since the 1930s and are still regularly involved with workplace injuries.