
Uniqlo robots pick up packaged T-shirts and put them in a box - mareko
https://www.ft.com/content/79434838-2142-11ea-b8a1-584213ee7b2b
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neonate
[http://archive.md/7qbSb](http://archive.md/7qbSb)

[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/24/uniqlo-heads-
tow...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/24/uniqlo-heads-towards-full-
warehouse-automation-groundbreaking/)

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Animats
The industrial laundry industry is almost there on this. Here's Chicago
Dryer's line.[1] They can take a huge clump of compressed sheets from a dryer
and separate them out singly on a conveyor. But humans still grab them by an
edge and start them into a slot for the ironing, folding and stacking process.

One last step to automate...

[1] [https://www.chidry.com/products/cascade-automatic-linen-
sepa...](https://www.chidry.com/products/cascade-automatic-linen-separating-
system)

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scribu
The video linked from the article [1] only shows a robot picking up an already
packaged t-shirt.

They don't show what I assume is the more challenging part, which is to
actually fold a t-shirt.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=h1_aZhmL5vw...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=h1_aZhmL5vw&feature=emb_logo)

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rb808
Obligatory link to folding a shirt perfectly in 2 seconds.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6rjbw0ZA0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6rjbw0ZA0)

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edgarvaldes
Women clothing has irregular shapes, I hate folding it.

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Tade0
Not to mention at times weird textures.

I use hangers for most of my SO's clothes, because women's clothing is just to
inconsistent to be handled otherwise.

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tholman
I can’t read the article at all, it’s a paid publication. Are people who are
voting for this all subscribers?

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_-___________-_
I believe it's just a signup-wall, not a pay-wall, so it's quite possible all
the upvoters have an account, but I'd still prefer that the link was to
something that didn't have any kind of wall.

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AareyBaba
The robots are standard pick and place robots using suction to pick _packaged_
t-shirts and put them in a box. If you were expecting to see a robot picking
up a t-shirt, folding it and putting it in a package you will be disappointed.

~~~
Reason077
I like Uniqlo, but one thing that has annoyed me about them is the
environmentally unsound practice of packaging each individual item (T-Shirts,
etc) in a thick plastic wrapper.

They don’t do this for all their lines, but it would be good if they could
abandon such superfluous packaging altogether or at least switch to using
sustainable, biodegradable materials.

~~~
reaperducer
It's very Japanese. You wouldn't believe the amount of plastic packaging even
simple things are treated to in Japan. Box of 24 widgets? Expect each to be
individually wrapped, the box to be wrapped, and then a plastic bag.

~~~
skyyler
Not to mention all of the papers and cards and posters that come with the
widgets.

I got a recipe book with a Japanese toaster, in addition to like 9 other
pieces of paper or cardstock, in addition to the regulatory pamphlet.

I think most places in Japan have pretty extreme recycling policies. I wonder
what came first, the excess of trash or the ability to deal with it?

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fiblye
Oh, make no mistake, Japan’s plastic recycling is just like the rest of the
world: it was dumped in poorer Asian countries. Most cities burn it now. PET
plastic is allegedly recycled, but that’s just a small portion of all plastic.

~~~
blackoil
If my understanding is correct, Japanese put lot of emphasis on segregating
garbage. So if most plastic is separately collected, who is buying it and for
what? Why not simply burn it?

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syntaxing
I found their new cashier system even more impressive. The cashier literally
has to put everything on top of this plate and everything gets scanned at
once. I hear the Uniqlo in Japan has this self checkout system that has this
plus automatic bagging.

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noisy_boy
Decathlon[0] also has a similar self checkout system where you basically dump
all the items in a box with scanning built in and everything gets scanned
immediately. Very efficient.

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon_Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon_Group)

~~~
himlion
I agree it's a nifty system. I think every item is tagged with an RFID chip.
Does anyone know he details?

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technobabble
All clothes I’ve bought from Uniqlo have the rfid logo on the tag.

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alkonaut
So someone making $1 per day put the t-shirt in the bag in Bangladesh, but
Uniqlo has a robot that can move those packaged shirts?

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ruler88
well, these robots will be operating in highly competitive markets offering
2-3 day shipping so Bangladeshi packers will not be in those labor markets.

With raising minimal wage in the US. We are likely looking at $10/hr in
various markets. These robots run 24/7 so that is 10 _24_ 365 = $87k saved per
year. Even with depreciation counted in, it sounds pretty economical to me.

~~~
coldcode
Unless you need a job of course. What is economical to a single manufacturer
may not be for a society.

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heliophobicdude
Most likely a coincidence but their founder resigned from Softbank's board
recently. Softbank has a business in robotics.

[https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/uniqlo-founder-yanai-
resigns...](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/uniqlo-founder-yanai-resigns-as-
softbank-board-member-after-18-years.html)

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api
PSA: I would pay upwards of $5000 for a robot that can reliably fold and put
away laundry. I mean in a real bedroom, not some contrived setting, and real
clothes that are not pre-sorted.

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gambiting
I can't fathom having enough disposable income to spend $5000 on such a thing.
Good for you I guess.

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swalsh
I have kids, folding laundry is at least an active 15 minutes every day. I'd
pay way more than 5000 to get that time back. If you skip a day it piles up,
and soon you have hours worth of folding waiting for you.

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insickness
I don't know where you live, but in New York City there are several services
that come pick up your laundry and drop it off when it's done. No matter how
you slice it, it's probably a lot less than $5k per year.

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Dylan16807
> No matter how you slice it, it's probably a lot less than $5k per year.

Now remember that the offer starting this thread was to pay a flat $5k to own
a machine. Even with running costs and repairs, that's less than a tenth of
$5k per year.

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cwperkins
More people need to be aware that Uniqlo sources some of its cotton from
Xinjiang where the Uyghur were/are detained.

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GordonS
Could you explain why you feel that is relevant?

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notthatdud
Irrelevant to a robot, relevant to the company that uses the robot.

I think it’s important to keep in mind where products come from, especially if
the source is from modern day, holocaust-esque, concentration camps.

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GordonS
I guess I misunderstoof the GP then - which is why I asked why it was relevant
(and got downvoted for it...).

I'm aware of the terrible things happening in Xinjiang, but now I realise the
implication is (I think) that Uyghurs are being forced to produce things.

