[kevinmpeterson]

Probably - if cost goes down to operate a machine, then the base machines can be smaller. Will eventually be interesting to go for much bigger changes... ditch the cabs, lower profiles, place your cameras in smart spots, move the pivot points so they are best for the job instead of best for a person. Vehicle distribution might change, too - heavy machines are tools and the tool you choose is a combo of best quality, right cost, speed, etc. That landscape will shift.

The variety of machines and their specificity is super fascinating and very specific. Definitely will change.

[waynenilsen]

I am very much looking forward to seeing how things evolve. Do you think the bitter lesson applies here? I am assuming you are gathering reams of data from the controls and any cameras of manually operated machines. I have been thinking about the bitter lesson in many contexts recently and I think for something like this where there really isn't anything proprietary about the method of operation, doing some kind of data consignment agreement or just up front paying for data could be very valuable in and of itself. Even unlabeled data can later be autolabeled.