Walmart will begin cleaning some of its stores with robot janitors beginning in January, the company announced Monday.
The robots in question "look like a cross between a miniature Zamboni and a motorized wheel chair," Bloomberg reports, and their main function is to sweep and mop store floors. They must be guided by humans while they learn the contours of the space they'll clean but after that can operate autonomously, even while customers are around.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Tutankhamun: the mystery of the boy pharaoh's pierced earsUnder the Radar Researchers believe piercings suggest the iconic funerary mask may have been intended for a woman
-
Exploring Easter Island, one of the world's most remote inhabited islandsThe Week Recommends It takes time and effort to travel to this mystical locale
-
Linda McMahon, the former wrestling mogul tapped for Department of EducationIn the Spotlight Longtime Trump ally set for nomination as secretary of the agency despite limited background in the field
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strikeSpeed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
