This robot changes tires faster than any mechanic, without even removing the wheel

[DragonSlayer101]

The big picture: There's a lot of concern about AI taking over white-collar jobs, but roles requiring physical labor were thought to be relatively safe. That seems to have been an inaccurate assumption, as new startups are now developing AI-powered robots that promise to do technical, hands-on jobs at a fraction of the time required by skilled workers.

Boston-based robotics startup Automated Tire this week unveiled an AI-powered robotic tire-changing platform called SmartBay that can not only change tires, but also do associated tasks, such as wheel balancing and vehicle inspections. The robot uses computer vision and machine learning to perform the tasks and does not need any human intervention.

The company claims SmartBay does not repeat fixed routines as traditional automated factory lines do, relying instead on AI to learn from previous experience and adapt to each vehicle. According to CEO Andy Chalofsky, it is the "next generation of the automotive service bay," built to automate hands-on tasks that traditionally require skilled mechanics.

Chalofsky describes SmartBay as a patented technology that can change tires without removing the wheel from the vehicle. A demo video (below) released by the company shows the robot lifting the car like a traditional lift, but rather than unscrewing the lug nuts and pulling the wheel, it dismounts the tire from the rim while the wheel stays on the vehicle.

Once the new tire is mounted, SmartBay performs wheel balancing using the company's patented Real Force Balance technology, which Chalofsky says can balance "the entire wheel-end assembly, including all of the rotating components in the wheel well." He also claimed the technology offers "the most complete and accurate balance available on the market today."

Smartbay means to automate the tedious job of changing tires and balancing wheels, thereby reducing the dependence on human service bay personnel. The company says one technician can manage up to three bays simultaneously, cutting both turnaround time and labor costs.

According to Chalofsky, a typical tire service takes about 75 minutes when performed by a human, while SmartBay can do it in just 30 minutes, allowing a single technician to handle up to 24 tires an hour, compared to just four tires in an hour and 15 minutes by human mechanics in traditional service bays.

Describing traditional tire servicing as "caveman-style banging" with a hammer in a "noisy, smelly auto shop," Chalofsky claims that SmartBay offers a better alternative to the age-old system.

The company plans to lease out Smartbay to dealerships, tire shops, and service centers for $4,900 per month, which it claims is more economical than hiring skilled technicians.

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This robot changes tires faster than any mechanic, without even removing the wheel

 

[The Talking Tech]

But according to A.I apologists, those being replaced by A.I are getting plenty of money to no longer need to work...right?............wrong!!!

 

[m4a4]

As someone who lives far enough north, I have 2 sets of tires (on rims), so this wouldn't help.

That said, tire changes are getting expensive enough I might just start doing it myself...

 

[yRaz]

I spent a summer changing tires in my grandfather's shop in highschool. You take the wheel off, set it on the machine, machine removes tires, you set tire on machine, machine puts wheel on.

I'm not surprised they can completely automate this task as it was mostly automated before

 

[Che Cazzo]

A couple of months ago I took my car to Goodyear Auto Service. I had the feeling one of my tires had a slow leak.

They inspected all 4 tires and found nothing is leaking. They even checked the tire-pressure sensor (which alerted me). Nothing. They cleaned the sensor anyway and gave me the car keys.

"How much do I owe you?? "
"Nothing, have a good day!"

Wake me up when our new AI overlords and robots will treat you that way.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

But according to A.I apologists, those being replaced by A.I are getting plenty of money to no longer need to work....right?...wrong!!!

Literally nobody claims this.

I spent a summer changing tires in my grandfather's shop in highschool. You take the wheel off, set it on the machine, machine removes tires, you set tire on machine, machine puts wheel on.

I'm not surprised they can completely automate this task as it was mostly automated before

Taking the wheel off the car and on the machine requires a great amount of dexterity, in an environment where there is no consistent positioning of the vehicle and a wide variation of bolt patterns, wheel sizes, and wheel designs limiting where you can grab them.

Just think of how much variation there is there and how hard that would be to consistently automate. Then think how expensive that machine would be compared tot he income of a tire shop.

 

[stewi0001]

Last time I got my tires changed, they changed all 4 in under 30 mins.

 

[SRB]

So, and advanced tire machine that automates tire removal from the rim runs $20,000 or so, and I haven't actually seen one yet (Still have to get the tire from the car to the machine by a person). So how much do you think this thing will wind up costing to manufacture, much less maintain. What is the uptime over a year if operating 8-5, 6 days a week?

Ability to automate a lot of jobs has been around for a while. It's the cost that prevents it.

BTW, No one is hiring skilled line technicians to change tires....it's more of an entry level spot.

 

[Draconian]

According to Chalofsky, a typical tire service takes about 75 minutes when performed by a human

Is that accurate?

 

[JMGuy]

But according to A.I apologists, those being replaced by A.I are getting plenty of money to no longer need to work....right?...wrong!!!

Okay, Doomer.

Every single tech shift since the dawn of time brings out this exact copy-pasted narrative.

Scribes panicked over the printing press. Weavers fought the loom. Luddites smashed the steam engine. History didn't stop in 1440. You're just keeping a 600-year-old tradition of fear-mongering alive.

Be opportunistic. Be industrious. Be resilient. Adaptation is literally our species' superpower. Figure it out, or someone else will eat your lunch. That’s just reality.

 

[Stoly]

Is that accurate?

I know a neighborhood where "skilled technicians" can remove all 4 tires in a matter of seconds.

 

[Hecate91]

A couple of months ago I took my car to Goodyear Auto Service. I had the feeling one of my tires had a slow leak.

They inspected all 4 tires and found nothing is leaking. They even checked the tire-pressure sensor (which alerted me). Nothing. They cleaned the sensor anyway and gave me the car keys.

"How much do I owe you?? "
"Nothing, have a good day!"

Wake me up when our new AI overlords and robots will treat you that way.

Tire service centers which inspect leaks for free are great.
I doubt the AI bots and companies buying fully automated machines would check over tires for free, they'd simply pass on the cost of the robot tire machine.

 

[Hecate91]

Okay, Doomer.

Every single tech shift since the dawn of time brings out this exact copy-pasted narrative.

Scribes panicked over the printing press. Weavers fought the loom. Luddites smashed the steam engine. History didn't stop in 1440. You're just keeping a 600-year-old tradition of fear-mongering alive.

Be opportunistic. Be industrious. Be resilient. Adaptation is literally our species' superpower. Figure it out, or someone else will eat your lunch. That’s just reality.

Okay, AI salesman.
Every single time someone has to bring up the strawman argument of how machines replaced people, when the negative reality of AI is mentioned.
There won't be opportunities and it isn't fear mongering because corporations will replace everyone with AI, because the C-suite and shareholders don't care as long as it keeps the profit line going up.
And it won't be the wonderful utopia the AI apologists keep saying it will be when the average person won't have a job to pay for anything.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

So, and advanced tire machine that automates tire removal from the rim runs $20,000 or so, and I haven't actually seen one yet (Still have to get the tire from the car to the machine by a person). So how much do you think this thing will wind up costing to manufacture, much less maintain. What is the uptime over a year if operating 8-5, 6 days a week?

Ability to automate a lot of jobs has been around for a while. It's the cost that prevents it.

BTW, No one is hiring skilled line technicians to change tires....it's more of an entry level spot.

They literally say "the company plans to lease out Smartbay to dealerships, tire shops, and service centers for $4,900 per month" so your 20K is made up. Lease implies that cost is all in.

The math is simple. The same way tire shops moved from those manual metal spoons to the pneumatic machines today.

 

[BobHome]

So, and advanced tire machine that automates tire removal from the rim runs $20,000 or so, and I haven't actually seen one yet (Still have to get the tire from the car to the machine by a person). So how much do you think this thing will wind up costing to manufacture, much less maintain. What is the uptime over a year if operating 8-5, 6 days a week?

Ability to automate a lot of jobs has been around for a while. It's the cost that prevents it.

BTW, No one is hiring skilled line technicians to change tires....it's more of an entry level spot.

Next will be the robot to get the tire to the machine.
Plus unload the new tires from a truck. And load the old ones on a truck as well.

 

[TooQik]

Still need a human to drive the vehicle in and out of the bay, take away the old tyres, and load new tyres onto the machine for fitting, so not a total loss for human employment.

Not sure how I feel about the wheel balance being done while on the vehicle. If the vehicle has a balance issue that isn't caused by the wheel/tyre combination, I would want it dealt with directly rather than having it balanced out on the wheel itself. Long term I see potential to cause problems with unresolved issues on brakes, wheel hubs, bearings, half shafts etc.

 

[Str8Shot]

…or we could just appreciate manual labor and the traditional way of changing tires while preserving people’s livelihoods and being able to put bread on the table and not be marginalized.

 

[toooooot]

Discount tire will probably save a lot of money when this thing is polished and works well.
Sucks for the employees that are no longer needed, though.

 

[Endymio]

But according to A.I apologists, those being replaced by A.I are getting plenty of money to no longer need to work...right?............wrong!!!

Anyone who believes it's a better world where we must employ people to spend their life changing tires needs to sell their computer, turn off their electric service, and return to a wholesome 18th-century lifestyle. As your very last Google search, you can look up how to churn your own butter and tan hides to make your own shoes.

 

[toooooot]

Anyone who believes it's a better world where we must employ people to spend their life changing tires needs to sell their computer, turn off their electric service, and return to a wholesome 18th-century lifestyle. As your very last Google search, you can look up how to churn your own butter and tan hides to make your own shoes.

It is about a bigger picture, a picture were we, as the Western World, desperately need entry level jobs because we have too many people who are physically unable to do anything more complicated.
We need those, period. And if we lose them at a much higher rate than we can create new ones (not in India or China) we are quickly becoming poor, as a nation.

 

[umeng2002]

What about changing the valve stem or pressure sensor?

 

[Tantor]

Tire shops will have one of these to do the mundane easy tire changes. But they will retain some good techs to perform inspections, analysis, and handle the difficult jobs. Those good techs will command higher salaries. The companies that manufacture the robots will need engineers to maintain them. So lots of good jobs.

 

[Endymio]

It is about a bigger picture, a picture were we, as the Western World, desperately need entry level jobs

Then you agree this is a welcome innovation, as the persons running one of these AI-operated bays will require little to no training -- just as AI-assisted paralegals, graphic artists, and thousands of other positions will require less skills than they did before.

... if we lose them at a much higher rate than we can create new ones (not in India or China) we are quickly becoming poor, [sic] as a nation.

The nation that controls the AI industry will be the richest and most powerful on earth, just as Britain ruled a quarter of the world due to its mastery of the tools of the Industrial Revolution.

 

[Steveb8189]

Is that accurate?

Well no, but the whole sentence makes no sense

"a typical tire service takes about 75 minutes when performed by a human, while SmartBay can do it in just 30 minutes, allowing a single technician to handle up to 24 tires an hour"

 

[Endymio]

Well no, but the whole sentence makes no sense

"a typical tire service takes about 75 minutes when performed by a human, while SmartBay can do it in just 30 minutes, allowing a single technician to handle up to 24 tires an hour"

Three bays x 4 tires/car x 2 cars/hour:

"...ATI says that one person can, in theory, handle three bays at once while the machines do most of the laborious work. “A single technician can run two or three SmartBays in parallel, processing roughly 24 tires an hour compared to about four tires in 75 minutes today...."