🇺🇸 영어 원문
Every time you click “buy” on an online order, the chances are that your purchase starts getting processed within minutes. Increasingly, the journey starts with a squat silver floor robot gliding beneath a storage rack, lifting a shelf and carrying it across a warehouse to a waiting worker.
At Geek+’s factory in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, which the BBC visited, fleets of the robots are built and tested before being shipped to warehouses around the world. Some of Britain’s biggest retailers – including Tesco, Asda and Next – now use the company’s technology.
By automating these repetitive journeys, Geek+ says retailers can increase picking speeds, store more goods in spaces that are hard to reach for humans, and reduce errors. Unlike traditional warehouse automation, which relies on fixed conveyor systems and permanent infrastructure, autonomous mobile robots can be deployed simply using QR code floor markers and safety fencing.
Geek+, which listed in Hong Kong last year in one of the biggest robotics share sales of 2025, has become the world’s largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots. The UK has struggled with weak productivity growth for more than a decade, and economists say wider adoption of robotics will be essential if businesses to become more efficient.
In its 2026 report SME Technology Adoption in the United Kingdom, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said technologies like robotics would be key to improving productivity. According to the OECD, Britain’s low adoption of robotics is “surprising” given its manufacturing heritage, noting that while UK firms have embraced mature digital technologies, they lag behind in robotics and automation.
That presents an opportunity for companies such as Geek+. The UK has one of Europe’s largest e-commerce and logistics sectors, but many warehouses are still in the early stages of automation. Britain has already become Geek+’s biggest European market, with UK partner MotionTech deploying more than 2,000 robots across 10 warehouse sites.
“Customers want fast deployable solutions,” says Barry Pemberton, Account Director at MotionTech. “They want high volume, high storage, fast picking… ultimately on a smaller footprint with a reduced headcount.” “We seem to have a very big shortage of labour in the UK at the moment. These technologies are really important to keep businesses thriving and meet demand.”
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents almost 6 million UK workers, says robotics should be used to raise productivity and improve jobs, rather than simply cut labour costs. In its response to the government’s consultation on a new AI and innovation strategy, it urged ministers to ensure workers are involved in decision making.
🇰🇷 한국어 요약
안녕하세요 청소년 여러분! 오늘은 온라인 쇼핑이 어떻게 빠르게 처리되는지 그 비밀을 알려줄 로봇에 대해 알아볼까요? 여러분이 온라인에서 “구매” 버튼을 누르면, 주문은 몇 분 안에 처리되기 시작합니다. 이 과정에는 종종 Geek+라는 회사의 작은 은색 로봇들이 참여합니다. 이 로봇들은 창고 바닥을 미끄러지듯 이동하며 선반을 들어 올려 작업자에게 가져다주죠.
영국의 대형 유통업체들도 이 기술을 도입하여 반복적인 작업을 자동화하고 있습니다. 이렇게 하면 작업 속도가 빨라지고, 사람이 닿기 힘든 곳에도 물건을 저장할 수 있으며, 실수도 줄일 수 있습니다. 기존의 고정된 컨베이어 벨트 방식과 달리, 이 자율 주행 로봇들은 바닥에 QR 코드를 찍기만 하면 쉽게 배치할 수 있어 매우 유연합니다.
영국은 오랫동안 생산성 성장이 더뎠는데, 경제학자들은 로봇 기술의 확산이 비즈니스 효율성을 높이는 데 필수적이라고 말합니다. OECD 보고서에 따르면 영국의 로봇 도입률은 제조업 전통을 고려할 때 놀라울 정도로 낮다고 합니다. 하지만 이제 로봇 기술이 노동력 부족 문제를 해결하고 생산성을 높이는 핵심 열쇠가 되고 있습니다. 노동조합은 로봇이 단순히 인력을 줄이는 도구가 아니라, 일자리를 개선하고 생산성을 높이는 데 사용되어야 한다고 강조합니다.
🔑 핵심 단어 (Vocabulary)
- Automate – 자동화하다 – By automating these repetitive journeys…
- Autonomous – 자율적인 – …autonomous mobile robots can be deployed…
- Productivity – 생산성 – The UK has struggled with weak productivity growth…
- Infrastructure – 기반 시설 – …relies on fixed conveyor systems and permanent infrastructure…
- Deploy – 배치하다, 투입하다 – …robots can be deployed simply using QR code…
- Heritage – 유산, 전통 – …given its manufacturing heritage…
- Shortage – 부족 – We seem to have a very big shortage of labour…
- Strategy – 전략 – …consultation on a new AI and innovation strategy…
- Efficiency – 효율성 – …essential if businesses to become more efficient.
- Logistics – 물류 – …largest e-commerce and logistics sectors…
🔗 원문 링크
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0jl8v23qwgo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss