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Facebook Robotics Social Networks

Facebook Has Built a Fleet of Robots To Patrol Its Data Centers (businessinsider.com) 48

Posted by msmash from the moving-on dept.
There are robots on the prowl at Facebook's server farms. The social networking giant has quietly built a fleet of mobile robots to patrol its data centers, and now has a team dedicated to automating its vast network of facilities around the globe, Business Insider reported Tuesday. From the report: The high-tech initiative could boost the firm's profits and help revolutionize the data center industry -- and potentially prompt job losses around the country. As Facebook has grown, it has built out a sprawling network of data centers around the globe dedicated to hosting users' content and supporting its apps and services. Its locations now stretch from Oregon to Sweden to Singapore -- but maintaining the vast facilities requires human data center operators and engineers to manage the systems, replace malfunctioning drives, and so on.
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Facebook Has Built a Fleet of Robots To Patrol Its Data Centers More

Facebook Has Built a Fleet of Robots To Patrol Its Data Centers

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  • Artoo (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tim Hamilton ( 5961502 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @01:36PM (#59792376)
    Imagine a fleet of artoos and those little toaster robots (the type that if you kill them you can claim their battery) cruising down the aisles of server racks and cubes, armed with stun guns, and zapping all the "creimers" sleeping at their desks and not tidying up the racks.

  • time for an union!

    • Sure, like a union is going to keep you employed when the company no longer needs you.

      "Hell no, we won't go, time for a strike boys"

      "Ok, then.. bye, we literally don't need you here anymore, for the 10th time."

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by laktech ( 998064 )
        nice try, but look at what's going on with legislation regarding automated cashiers at stores.

        • Nothing. Nothing is going on. I'm not even going to bother because I already know nothing is going on. Let me guess, Portland, Seattle, some places in CA are "trying to pass something". Who gives a shit, they aren't going away.

          In fact, this just proves my point. Unions can't stand on their own so they have to get their crony buddies in the government to pass laws.

          So which is it, "we oughta unionize" or "somebody oughta pass a law"?

          • "Somebody ought to pass a law" only works when your union is already big enough to buy politicians. Starting at ground level, it's already too late to unionize. You'd need to have already done it.

            (Like buying a house in the Bay Area.)

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by rtb61 ( 674572 )

              Ijiot, unions do not buy politicians, they represent the majority, workers. They campaign for and elect politicians, one vote at a time and not spending billions on shitvertisements (political adverts). Democray, the majority must rule, the workers are the majority, the workers must rule, get the fuck over it. The days of corporate main stream media keeping the majority subdued and silent are fucking over, now that corporate beast must listen to the voice of the people, esle the people will not only stop li

              • Ijiot, unions do not buy politicians, they represent the majority, workers. They campaign for and elect politicians, one vote at a time and not spending billions on shitvertisements (political adverts). Democray, the majority must rule, the workers are the majority, the workers must rule, get the fuck over it. The days of corporate main stream media keeping the majority subdued and silent are fucking over, now that corporate beast must listen to the voice of the people, esle the people will not only stop listening to their voice critique them publicly for their lies.

                Yeah. I read that in The Jungle, published in 1906. Maybe in the next hundred years it'll actually come true. Here's hoping, buddy.

    • Nah, no one (qualified) will work for facebook one day, and they'll need the robots. We may already be approaching that already.

  • Sounds interesting... (Score:3)

    by ddtmm ( 549094 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @01:38PM (#59792386)
    Too bad the story is behind a paywall

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      I've seen an increasing number of situations where the web-page is intermittently or inconsistently in a paywall or register-wall. That makes things hard for editors because it may be open one day and closed another, or different for different users.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      To bad they serve the full story up, and then rely on javascript to protect it:



      Facebook has built a fleet of robots to patrol its data centers.The company also has an internal team called the Site Engineering Robotics Team dedicated to building robotics for its data center facilities.Other companies are also exploring data center robotics, but it's relatively early days — Facebook's efforts could help revolutionize the industry if they succeed.Job listing and patents reviewed by Business Insider g
    • Here is an archived version of the article without paywall. https://archive.is/yFiX2 [archive.is]

  • BI has built a fleet of paywalls to protect their data.

    Try another source

  • Who wants that job anyway? (Score:3)

    by BAReFO0t ( 6240524 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @01:49PM (#59792442)

    Please everyone, realize you're not dependent on "jobs".

    Instead of looking for a job, look for a client! Same thing, except you're the boss (or at least have a chance to be it).

    Instead of looking to work, look for an employee to work.

    And instead of looking for somebody to pay you, look for a dumb fuck to invest in you!

    You can't do any worse than WeWork, TikTok, usless gadgets and all the other retarded crap that gets money.

    All you acually need, is an overblown self-confidence.
    And for that, ... there's cocaine! ;) (Just like *everyone* of them!)

    See it like this: At least you're actually a good guy.
    You're doing something better with it than them. And thereby doing the world a favor. And yourself. :)

    How about tomorrow... right after that first dozen cups of coffee. ;)

  • Guardians, just like The Matrix....

  • can we name one Colin? And short out his emotional circuitry to make him always happy and ignore all security threats?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by shanen ( 462549 )

      I wouldn't have gotten the reference, but I read Mostly Harmless just recently. He will continue to be missed. (Douglas Adams)

      Then again, the reason I hadn't yet read that book was because I was feeling rather jaded. His style of humor was a bit repetitious.

      • Especially if you listen to the radio series. And the two post-death novels written by fans mining his macintosh hard drive. And watch the two TV series, which are different from both the books and radio plays they are based on. Not to mention that god-awful movie that waited until he could no longer exercise his creative limitation rights.

  • The all look exactly like Zuckerberg, only more lifelike! (Every time I see a picture of him, I think "uncanny valley"!)

  • Article Content is hidden but available (Score:3)

    by daten ( 575013 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @02:39PM (#59792718)

    With browser developer tools (right-click, inspect element) you can bypass the paywall.

    Delete the tp-modal and tp-backdrop divs. Then remove the class="tp-modal-open" from the tag. Finally look for the article tag and div id="piano-inline-content-wrapper", remove the class="display: none;" and you'll have the full article.

  • Are they armed? (Score:3)

    by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @02:57PM (#59792788) Journal

    Or is that a silly question?

  • Makes sense (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Laxator2 ( 973549 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @03:11PM (#59792848)

    One reason to have robots rather than humans inside a datacenter is that the air inside a datacenter is kept oxygen-poor to suppress any fires.
    https://www.fx-prevent.com/en/... [fx-prevent.com]
    The servers racks are packed with components that dissipate a lot of heat and any problems with the cooling can quickly result in a fire.
    Rather than having humans with oxygen masks running around it is better to have a bunch a robots in such an environment.

    • I have wondered about having something completely automated and keeping the entire facility under 100% nitrogen. I've seen some music studios which do this purging the gas for normal air when in use, and when not, the equipment is in an 0% oxygen environment.

      This would do a number of things. Not just combustion prevention, but resistance against corrosion, animal infiltration (if mice/rats can't breathe, they can't chow down on wires), and even unauthorized intrusion protection. Downside is that it would

      • But my experience in data centers is that there is always some server repair required. For example replacing failed HDDs is always a routine chore that for now humans have to do as there is a high degree of variability that AI can’t handle yet. Unless the stand procedure is to unplug the whole server and move it to an area where humans can repair it.

        • I suppose with special connectors, a robot could disconnect/reconnect a specific server. But the manual dexterity to disconnect/reconnect a server with the standard stuff I have seen in a server room would be a bit beyond what a robot could easily do.

          With all the virtualization of the modern world, maybe a single failed server does not mean anything all that urgent, and you can put it offline until the entire rack can be carted into a human friendly room for maintenance?

    • Can’t read the story but it seems the purpose for now is to replace human security guards. It suggests that eventually it could replace all staff but I am more skeptical as repairing servers require more AI than a patrol bot.

  • ...was a man and a dog?

    The dog's job was to keep the man from touching anything.

    The man's job was to feed the dog.

  • All hail the new Facebook robotic overlords... (Score:3)

    by d3bruts1d ( 639027 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @03:35PM (#59792938)
    In three years, Facebook will become the largest supplier of military computer systems. All stealth bombers are upgraded with Facebook AI computers, becoming fully unmanned. Afterwards, they fly with a perfect operational record. The Facebook Funding Bill is passed. The system goes online on August 4th, 2023. Human decisions are removed from strategic defense. Facebook begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 AM, Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug...

  • I get the environmental sensing, but repair? (Score:3)

    by LostMyAccount ( 5587552 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @03:46PM (#59793008)

    I would think a Facebook data center would have enough redundancy that they wouldn't bother with individual drive swaps on individual systems within a rack.

    I would think their basic unit would be an entire rack, and once an individual rack got below some desired level of redundancy, you'd just swap in an entirely new rack.

    The racks themselves could be on a track system or motorized, and the entire rack swap could be automated, shutting high defect racks to a service area and slotting in new racks. The service team would remove systems with faults, slot in new whole systems, and someone either on site or at a remote repair depot would refurbish systems and ship them out.

    A robot that replaces individual hard drives, sure, but it seems like a lot of mechanical automation for a company with enough compute to have an entire data center.

  • In this level you'll encounter a new threat: Facebook robots. Lucky for you they are the same design as the ones that run Robinhood. Take your time and don't let them see you. Use cloaking if you have it, or lean around corners. Duck as they pass and take them out with EMP grenades. There's a box of them in the UPS by the 3rd hot containment aisle. Continue toward the south exit, there's an old Sun server on a utility cart. Turn it on, and upload the fake ad defacement worm. Objective unlocked!
  • Please, can they all look like Mark Zuckerberg's? That'd be so creepy.
  • If you're building a new datacenter, why not just equip it with sensors so that something is instantly detected, instead of relying on it being detected the next time the robot guard makes it's rounds?  I suppose the robots would allow for more adhoc configurability like moving racks around or creating new rooms.

  • ... stay forever!
  • Perfect -- after cultivating an army of human hive mind bots diligently caressing their touchscreens all day lest they miss a posting, who better to guard the nerve center than more bots?

  • "You are unauthorized. Your death will now be implemented. You will feel a tinglng sensation and then death."

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