Android Auto's Gaming Push Has Nothing to Do With Robotics, and That's the Problem With Tech Coverage

But you won't read about any of that in mainstream tech publications. You'll read about Gamesnacks.

I remember when Automation World and Control Engineering were the places you went for actual industry news. Now even they're chasing clicks with consumer angle stories. It's not that consumer tech doesn't matter. It does. But the ratio has gotten completely out of whack.

The Broader Point

I'm not saying ZDNet shouldn't cover Android Auto features. They're a general tech publication. That's their beat. What bothers me is the absence of dedicated industrial coverage that used to exist.

When I started in this industry, in the late eighties, we had maybe a dozen solid publications covering factory automation. Now most of them have folded or pivoted to broader "technology" coverage, which basically means whatever generates engagement.

The result is that genuinely important developments (new safety standards, integration protocols, workforce training programmes) get ignored while we debate which mobile games work best when you're parked at a charging station.

What I'd Rather Be Writing About

If I had better source material today, I'd be writing about the practical challenges of deploying autonomous mobile robots in brownfield facilities. That's where the real action is. Trying to get a modern AMR to navigate a warehouse that was designed in 1987 with load-bearing columns every fifteen feet and floor surfaces that haven't been releveled since Clinton was president.

That's interesting. That's hard. That's where engineers are actually solving problems.

Instead, I'm writing about why I'm not writing about that. Which is sort of meta and probably not what anyone came here for. But sometimes you work with what you've got, and what I've got today is frustration and a second cup of coffee.

I'll have something more substantial next week. I've got a call scheduled with someone at a systems integrator who's been doing interesting work with palletising cells. Assuming they actually pick up the phone this time.

In the meantime, I guess you can play Angry Birds in your car. If that's what passes for progress now.

James Chen · 25 Jun · 5 min