Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath and Sunday, November 2 and 3, 2024
It was this past July when I first spotted this aisle-cleaning robot at a local Winco Foods. Even before I saw it, I heard a persistent beeping like a delivery truck backing up, and soon the machine crawled cautiously around a corner toward me.
What you’re looking at in the photo is the back of the device. Notice the vacuum cleaner tube fitted into the groove, ready for a human staffer to clean up spills the robot can’t? On top, just this side of the yellow flashing light, is a large red button—probably an emergency “stop” switch. Up at the front you can see a steering wheel, for when the robot needs to be set on “manual” and operated by a rider. The black-and-yellow strap warns kids that no, you can’t climb up and ride. And out of sight on the front end is a large camera eye.
Pretty neat, right? I watched it awhile, and sure enough, it was moseying down aisle after aisle, pausing thoughtfully from time to time to calibrate what its camera was seeing. If it came along an aisle already occupied with a customer’s cart, it would stop and patiently wait till the coast was clear.
Know where I’m going with this? Sure you do. Isn’t it great that God didn’t design us to be mere robots, responding only to sensory input without the ability to ponder life from a wider perspective? Even what we sometimes call the “lower animals” aren’t purely instinctive, but exhibit a rudimentary power of choice.
In fact, the Bible has a lot to say about the Creator and His artistry. Click this link to get the full story: