Business Blind shopper with guide dog claims penis-shaped Woolworths robot stalked her around shouting "OBSTRUCTION OBSTRUCTION" - Thankfully it didn't have the EXTERMINATE mode on.

Blind Woolworths shopper claims the supermarket's 'penis-shaped' robot followed her around the store shouting 'obstruction' - embarrassing her and scaring her guide dog Bridget

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Blind shopper followed by penis shaped robot shouting obstruction

Casey Hyde said she was unable to finish her shopping at the Melbourne store because she was so uncomfortable and her support animal was confused.
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A blind woman has claimed a Woolworths robot 'stalked' her through a supermarket, calling her an 'obstruction' and scaring her guide dog, Bridget.

Casey Hyde said she was unable to finish her shopping at the Melbourne store because she was so uncomfortable and her support animal was confused.

Ms Hyde has 10 per cent sight and relies heavily on Bridget to complete everyday tasks.

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As she walked the aisles, Ms Hyde said the 'penis-shaped' robot - which alerts shoppers to hazards - repeatedly shouted the word 'obstruction' at her dog - which she believes may have been mistaken for a black garbage bin.

'It's designed to find things blocking the aisle and the robot thought Bridget was an obstruction. It scared the dog and also distracted her,' Ms Hyde told Yahoo.
'It was confronting for me – the robot wasn't helping me feel comfortable... I just want people to be able to enjoy their shopping instead of worrying about being stalked by a penis-shaped robot.'

Ms Hyde criticised the supermarket chain, claiming it was failing people with disabilities.

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'This robot followed me while I worked and yelled out that I'm a obstruction,' she wrote.
'I should have more status. Access and disability is always thought last due to low employment rates for people who live with a disability.
'Change the statistics to consider everyone. The robot can work after hours as it doesn't get paid.
'Please consider disability access in your stores,' she wrote.

A Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: 'We want all our customers to feel welcome in our stores and regret this wasn't the case on this occasion.

'We've made contact with the customer to find out more about the incident and will look into the details with the robot manufacturer as a priority.
'The safety robot is part of a trial designed to improve customer safety and experience in the store, and we're closely monitoring customer feedback on it.
'These robots operate in hundreds of stores across the world and have been subject to extensive safety testing by the manufacturer. They have sensors built in and are programmed to stop or move away from any fixed or moving objects.'
 
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Dysnomia said:
If you are gonna have robot voices they should be easy to understand. Also cool. Get some brand deals going. I want Morgan Freeman telling me where I am.
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I bet John DiMaggio might be affordable too.

If not him, then Brian Blessed.
 
Just remembered a while ago I saw one of these guys roaming around the freezer isle, some old dude was getting something out of the freezer. Marty scooted it's way over behind him and when he turned around he jumped.

I wonder how often shit like that happens because that was pretty funny to watch.
 
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Freedom Fries said:
Yeah I thought service dogs had a little vest and ID. This strikes me as fishy.
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Guide dogs usually just wear lesther harnesses with leather, metal, or plastic handles. They're too heavy to put on fabric. You can see the long yellow handle in the photo of the dog laying down next to the robot.
 
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Still Anonymous For This said:
Wait. If she's fucking blind, how in the world did she know what she was buying?

Story sounds like bullshit.
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I think foods in certain countries or markets will have these small clusters of nubs that you can feel on the labels; its like morse code for blind people. I know Japan has it on the plastic caps, pretty sure Europe has those too but I forgot.
Its literally decades ago that I watched nip dramas, during that time there were a lot shows/documentaries about disability doggos like Quill.
 
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Lose some weight and stop being an obstruction then.
Does she know what a penis looks like?
 
The Fool said:
They have these at Stop & Shop as other people hinted at, it's called Marty.



And yeah literally all it does is detect spills/hazards and shouts in a female voice (despite having a male name) that it found a spill, nothing else. It's definitely just so they can say they have a robot.

But I actually think they're fucking adorable and I love watching them scoot around. They're... endearing. It definitely adds some charm and recognition to the locations.
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What sort of mental case decided it was a good idea to bring Clippy to life?
 
The Fool said:
Automation replacing jobs in minimum-wage jobs is a huge issue and very bad PR. When chains like these add any form of automation, it's to streamline the job of the human staff/make more jobs. Self-checkouts already exist, and there isn't much else you can automate in a groceries store with modern technology. So, put a stick on wheels and have it scream when it sees a change in the floor. It's purely PR just to seem modern and progressive.
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Exactly, why not eliminate this intermediary step and just have a robot patrolling and cleaning shit up/ alert staff directly if it is something it cannot handle? We have fucking floor cleaning bots, get those!

No let's get a massive pillar of a robot that just unnerves people and screams! When the tech industry exploits boomer businesses... *sigh*

Lady seems like an entitled/payattentiontome! type. Would have been funny if it would have called her "Obstruction" and greeted the dog continuously with "Hello, doggo!"
 
5ever a crab said:
I think foods in certain countries or markets will have these small clusters of nubs that you can feel on the labels; its like morse code for blind people. I know Japan has it on the plastic caps, pretty sure Europe has those too but I forgot.
Its literally decades ago that I watched nip dramas, during that time there were a lot shows/documentaries about disability doggos like Quill.
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American drive thru bank tellers have them, which I have always found fascinating.
 
5ever a crab said:
I think foods in certain countries or markets will have these small clusters of nubs that you can feel on the labels; its like morse code for blind people. I know Japan has it on the plastic caps, pretty sure Europe has those too but I forgot.
Its literally decades ago that I watched nip dramas, during that time there were a lot shows/documentaries about disability doggos like Quill.
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Those nubs are called braille. Its on elevators, signs, doors, and ya ATM's. They use the same keypads in drive up and walk up ATM's so thats why you see it there. The weirdest spot I saw it was on a gas pump.
 
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It she thinks that looks like a penis, it kinda makes me wonder what large objects she had inside herself at other points in her life.
 
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