AI robots are entering the public world—with mixed results

Robots are stepping out. “Some things which are very easy for people are very hard for robots," said David Pinn, chief executive of Brain Corp, which provides software for automated floor-cleaning and inventory management robots used at retailers like Sam’s Club. Robots that will operate in human spaces will need better dexterity and the ability to circumvent obstacles—both areas that generative AI, the technology behind many of today’s chatbots, could help with. Generative AI could give robots the ability to plan and replan their tasks if they encounter an obstacle, understand what certain objects are even if they’ve never seen them before, and, critically, take commands in human language, said Marc Segura, president of the robotics division at ABB, a Zurich-based automation provider. Anthony Middleton, engineering design lead for warehouses at PepsiCo’s Europe division, said the company currently has about 30 automated guided vehicles, which follow fixed paths, and autonomous mobile robots, which move more freely, in Europe.