0:02
Hi, I'm Neil, the host of the Good News podcast.

0:05
This is your source for good news, fun stories and Sonic Joy.

0:09
All of this goodness is coming to you from beautiful Chicago Illinois for today's episode of the Good News podcast.

0:17
I have two stories of A I powered robots that are at work today.

0:23
Not a hypothetical test bed situation, but little bot buddies who are helping out humans and promising not to go all terminator on us.

0:35
I think earlier this year, I said that I thought 2024 was going to be the year of A I good news and it does seem to be coming up.

0:45
Of course, there is also plenty of bad A I news.

0:50
I'm not putting a blanket AI good news statement out there, but two stories have caught my eye and I figured I'd share them both with you first.

0:59
Let's head to the Netherlands and Noordwijkerhout, a town in the western part of the Netherlands with a ton of tulips.

1:09
Dutch tulips are a big deal.

1:12
They're a huge tourist draw and a mega industry unto themselves.

1:18
So, anything that could threaten these beautiful buds is a big issue for Dutch farmers.

1:25
There is apparently a tulip virus that in the long term can deal serious damage to a crop.

1:34
And a farm of tulips for many, many years, there has been a sick spotter job on tulip farms.

1:43
Basically people walking up and down rows and rows and rows of tulips with a very keen eye looking for tell tale sick leaves on newly sprouted tulips.

1:57
Those bulbs are then destroyed.

1:59
Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer of these sickness spotters available and robots can help.

2:07
Currently, there are according to the associated press, 45 sickness spotter robots in action in the Netherlands using a ton of data to take pictures of and identify these sick tulip bulbs.

2:24
I watched a moderately hypnotizing video of this robot in action and it moves slowly across the field, taking tons of pictures and then a little arm zips out goes down.

2:37
Honestly, I can't tell if it is damaging the bulb or if it's just marking it for later.

2:42
That part, I'm not sure about.

2:44
I know previously, I've shared my favorite farming robot that incorporated a laser to shoot weeds, no lasers here that I could tell.

2:55
But this tulip savior robot is at work alongside humans today and that is pretty cool.

3:03
Another industry that is putting robots and A I to work is the recycling industry for a very long time.

3:11
Recycling has required a ton of manual labor.

3:15
Basically people standing at a conveyor belt, reaching out and grabbing different types of recyclable material like plastic and aluminum cans and paper.

3:25
In recent years, a few companies have figured out ways to incorporate cameras, tons of pictures A I algorithms and little grabby arms to remove some of the manual labor from this equation.

3:39
Most recently, I've been learning about a company called Glacier which has just gotten another big round of funding that is installing small robots with flexible AI algorithms onto existing recycling flows and they're getting smaller and cheaper.

3:59
This company promises that a recycling facility could pay back their initial investment in a year.

4:06
So a robot simplifying the job for humans and allowing them to work in other parts of the facility is a win for everyone involved.

4:17
Something of note here is that Glacier is also working with Amazon, which acknowledges that their packaging is a huge part of the US recycling stream from what I can tell it seems like more and more of these recycling A I powered robots are being incorporated into recycling facilities all over and that's about it.

4:42
That's what I've got for you today.

4:43
Two sets of robots powered by A I that are punching in and punching out every day working alongside humans to simplify some really hard work.

4:56
That's the good news I have for you today.

4:58
Enjoy the rest of your day.

5:00
Thanks for listening.

5:01
If you've got good news or an idea for the show.

5:04
Amazing.

5:05
Send an email to hello at the good news podcast dot FM.

5:09
While you're at it, follow us on Twitter at the good news pod.

5:13
If you love the show, think about supporting our Patreon or reviewing us wherever you're getting this podcast from, both are great.

5:20
The music you hear on the show is from Paddington Bear.

5:23
Have a great day.