[BBMW]

Would not be surprised to see that happen, especially for the simpler stuff (changing oil, tires, batteries, etc.)

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

I also look forward to the automation of automobile repair.

[davidt1]

Simple motions that humans take for granted are incredibly difficult for robots to replicate. You won't see a robot that can change oil for a while. That task could be automated if there is enough business to generate enough profit to justify the cost. Unless a repair shop can bring in a thousand cars a day to do oil change, the profit is not there to pay for the automation.

[BBMW]

How many Jiffy Lube type oil change places are there in the country? Since they work on a two man system they have to have two people on site at all times (likely three with a manager/writer.) If the location runs more than one bay at a time, multiply that headcount by the number of bays. As minimum wage rises, this is going to get a lot more expensive for the operators. Given that robots are doing a lot of, if not most, of the building of cars now, I don't see that getting them to change the oil in the cars will be that much more difficult.

Originally Posted by davidt1

Simple motions that humans take for granted are incredibly difficult for robots to replicate. You won't see a robot that can change oil for a while. That task could be automated if there is enough business to generate enough profit to justify the cost. Unless a repair shop can bring in a thousand cars a day to do oil change, the profit is not there to pay for the automation.

[davidt1]

Assembly line automation and a robot walking on two feet are two different things. Like I said, you could potentially automate changing oil in an assembly line. But that kind of automation is too expensive to setup in a small shop to do a few cars a day. If Jiffy Lube can convince many people to bring their cars to one central location to change oil, then maybe the economy of scale might work out.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by davidt1

Assembly line automation and a robot walking on two feet are two different things. Like I said, you could potentially automate changing oil in an assembly line. But that kind of automation is too expensive to setup in a small shop to do a few cars a day. If Jiffy Lube can convince many people to bring their cars to one central location to change oil, then maybe the economy of scale might work out.

Not sure it is as difficult as you think it is. And one might well do away with the lift or the pit making it a much simpler facility. Simple one well articulated arm on top and on the bottom. Maybe a third to pop the hood or you use the writer for that. Still think you may need to have the writer for up selling air filters and such.

I would think it is in fact more a software problem than hardware. Identify what kind of car and have the procedure to open the drain and then find, remove and replace oil filter...etc.

[davidt1]

State of robots:

Still extremely clumsy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTw5ZOdQrBQ

[BBMW]

It's not their current state that counts, it's their trajectory, which is strongly upward.

It also doesn't help that the government is pushing the cost of human labor upward, which just increases the incentive for businesses to automate jobs out of existence.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by davidt1

State of robots:

Still extremely clumsy.

Not for the oil change job. The hardware piece is simple. Only the software would be challenging.. We still need a $50 Lidar.

[davidt1]

If it's that easy and cheap, it would have been done already.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by davidt1

If it's that easy and cheap, it would have been done already.

The mechanical piece has been easily achieved. It is the software that is not ready yet. But certainly in the next decade. And again if they solve the problem of a cheap LIDAR...which the autonomous vehicles also need...it would help.