Now Physical Jobs Are Going Remote, Too

Eric McCarter remembers the first time he operated a forklift truck in France--while sitting behind a desk in California. McCarter used the forklift to move a stack of pallets into a waiting truck using a setup resembling a video gaming rig. He sat behind a steering wheel and pedals that transmitted commands to the forklift thousands of miles away; large screens offered views in front, behind, and to the sides of the vehicle. The vehicle relies on limited artificial intelligence to avoid obstacles and safely come to a stop if the connection between France and the US were to fail. But the AI isn't yet clever enough to let the robotic forklift navigate on its own through an unfamiliar warehouse or take on a new task.