Nimblenewrobotschangeindustry
Drachten, pontas
AtthePhilipsElectronicsfactoryonthecoastofChina, hundredsofworkersusetheirhandsandspecializedtoolstoassembleelectricshavers. Thatistheoldway.
AtasisterfactoryhereintheDutchcountryside, 128robotarmsdothesameworkwithyoga-likeflexibility. Videocamerasguidethemthroughfeatswellbeyondthecapabilityofthemostdexteroushuman.
Onerobotarmendlesslyformsthreeperfectbendsintwoconnectorwiresandslipsthemintoholesalmosttoosmallfortheeyetosee.Thearmsworksofastthattheymustbeenclosedinglasscagestopreventthepeoplesupervisingthemfrombeinginjured.Andtheydoitallwithoutacoffeebreak-threeshiftsaday, 365daysayear.
Alltold, thefactoryherehasseveraldozenworkerspershift, aboutatenthasmanyastheplantintheChinesecityofZhuhai.
Thisisthefuture.Anewwaveofrobots,farmoreadeptthanthosenowcommonlyusedbyautomakersandotherheavymanufacturers,arereplacingworkersaroundtheworldinbothmanufacturinganddistribution. FactoriesliketheonehereintheNetherlandsareastrikingcounterpointtothoseusedbyAppleandotherconsumerelectronicsgiants, whichemployhundredsofthousandsoflow-skilledworkers.
paramos; Withthesemachines, wecanmakeanyconsumerdeviceintheworld, paramos; saidBinneVisser, whomanagesthePhilipsassemblylineinDrachten.
ManyindustryexecutivesandtechnologyexpertssayPhilipsand#39;sapproachisgaininggroundonAppleand#39;s.EvenasFoxconn,Appleand#39;siPhonemanufacturer,continuestobuildnewplantsandhirethousandsofadditionalworkerstomakesmartphones,itplanstoinstallmorethanamillionrobotswithinafewyearstosupplementitsworkforceinChina.
Foxconnhasnotsaidhowmanyworkerswillbedisplaced.Butitschairman,TerryGou,hasendorsedagrowinguseofrobots. Speakingofhismorethanonemillionemployees, hesaidinJanuary, accordingtotheofficialXinhuanewsagency: paramos; Ashumanbeingsarealsoanimals,tomanageonemillionanimalsgivesmeaheadache.andquot;
Thefallingcostsandgrowingsophisticationofrobotshaverenewedadebateoverhowquicklyjobswillbelost.Thisyear,ErikBrynjolfssonandAndrewMcAfee,economistsattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,madethecaseforarapidtransformation. paramos; Thepaceandscaleofthisencroachmentintohumanskillsisrelativelyrecentandhasprofoundeconomicimplications, paramos; theywroteintheirbook, paramos; RaceAgainsttheMachine.andquot;
Intheirminds,theadventoflow-costautomationforetellschangesonthescaleoftherevolutioninagriculturaltechnologyoverthelastcentury,whenfarmingemploymentintheUnitedStatesfellfrom40percentoftheworkforcetoabout2percent.
ButBranFerren, aveteranroboticistandindustrialproductdesigneratAppliedMindsinGlendale, Califórnia, arguesthattherearestillsteepobstacles. Paramos; Ihadanearlynaiveteaboutuniversalrobotsthatcouldjustdoanything, paramos; ele disse. paramos; Youhavetohavepeoplearoundanyway.Andpeopleareprettygoodatfiguringout,howdoIwiggletheradiatorinorslipthehoseon? Andthesethingsarestillhardforrobotstodo.andquot;
Beyondthetechnicalchallengesliesresistancefromunionizedworkersandcommunitiesworriedaboutjobs.EventhoughrisinglaborandtransportationcostsinAsiaandfearsofintellectualpropertytheftarenowbringingsomeworkbacktotheWest,theascensionofrobotsmaymeanfewerjobswillbecreated.
AttheFlextronicssolarpanelfactoryinMilpitas, southofSanFrancisco, abannerproclaims, paramos; BringingJobsandamp; ManufacturingBacktoCalifornia! paramos; Yetintheplant, therearerobotseverywhereandfewhumanworkers. Alloftheheavyliftingandalmostallofthepreciseworkisdonebyrobots.Thehumanworkerstrimexcessmaterial,threadwiresandscrewinahandfuloffasteners.
Suchadvancesinmanufacturingarealsotransformingothersectorsthatemploymillionsofworkers.Oneisdistribution,whererobotsthatzoomatthespeedoftheworldand#39;sfastestsprinterscanstore,retrieveandpackgoodsforshipmentfarmoreefficientlythanpeople.
Rapidimprovementinvisionandtouchtechnologiesisputtingawidearrayofmanualjobswithintheabilitiesofrobots.Forexample,Boeingand#39;swide-bodycommercialjetsarenowrivetedautomaticallybygiantmachinesthatmoverapidlyandpreciselyovertheskinoftheplanes.
AndatEarthboundFarmsinCalifornia, fournewlyinstalledrobotarmswithcustomizedsuctioncupsswiftlyplaceclamshellcontainersoforganiclettuceintoshippingboxes. EachrobotreplacestwotofiveworkersatEarthbound.
ARobôCorridaLevaForma
AtanautomationtradeshowlastyearinChicago,RonPotter,thedirectorofroboticstechnologyatanAtlantaconsultingfirmcalledFactoryAutomationSystems,offeredanexampleofaroboticmanufacturingsystemthatinitiallycost$250,000andreplacedtwomachineoperators,eachearning$50,000ayear. Overthe15-yearlifeofthesystem, themachinesyielded$ 3 .5millioninlaborandproductivitysavings.
GovernmentofficialsandindustryexecutivesintheUnitedStatesarguethateveniffactoriesareautomated, theystillareavaluablesourceofjobs. IftheUnitedStatesdoesnotcompeteforadvancedmanufacturinginindustrieslikeconsumerelectronics, itcouldloseproductengineeringanddesignaswell. Além disso, eventhoughblue-collarjobswillbelost, moreefficientmanufacturingwillcreateskilledjobsindesigning, operatingandservicingtheassemblylines.
Androbotmakerssaytheirindustryitselfcreatesjobs.AreportcommissionedbytheInternationalFederationofRoboticslastyearfoundthat150,000peoplearealreadyemployedbyroboticsmanufacturersworldwide.
ButAmericanandEuropeandominanceinthenextgenerationofmanufacturingisuncertain. paramos; WhatIseeisthattheChinesearegoingtoapplyrobots, também, paramos, saidFransvanHouten, Philipsand #39; schiefexecutive. paramos; Thewindowofopportunitytobringmanufacturingbackisbeforethathappens.andquot;
AMais rápidoMontagemLinha
AtTeslaMotorsinFremont, Califórnia, ontheedgeofSiliconValley, asmanyaseightrobotsperformaballetaroundeachvehicleasitstopsateachstationalongtheproductionlineforjustfiveminutes. Therobotarmsseemhumanwhentheyreachovertoastandandchangetheirandquot; handandquot; toperformadifferenttask. Whilethemanyrobotsinautofactoriestypicallyperformonlyonefunction, aTeslarobotmightdouptofour: soldagem, rebitagem, bondingandinstallingacomponent. Ultimatelyasmanyas83TeslaSelectricluxurysedansadaywillbeproducedatthefactory.Whenthecompanyaddsasportutilityvehiclenextyear,itwillbebuiltonthesameassemblyline,oncetherobotsarereprogrammed.
Teslaand #39; sfactoryistinybutrepresentsasignificantbetonflexiblerobots, onethatcouldbeamodelfortheindustry. Andothersarealreadythinkingbigger.
HyundaiandBeijingMotorsrecentlycompletedamammothfactoryoutsideBeijingthatcanproduceamillionvehiclesayearusingmorerobotsandfewerpeoplethanthebigfactoriesoftheircompetitorsandwiththesameflexibilityasTeslaand#39;s,saidPaulChau,anAmericanventurecapitalistatWIHarper.
Humanos e #39;MudandoPapel
InthedecadesincehebeganworkingasawarehousemaninTolleson,Arizona,JoshGraveshasseenhowautomationsystemscanmakeworkeasierbutalsocreatenewstressandinsecurity.ThegiantfacilitywhereheworksdistributesdrygoodsforKrogersupermarkets.
Mr.Graves, 29, wenttoworkinthewarehouserightoutofhighschool. Thedemandingjobrequiredliftingheavyboxesandthehourswerelong.
TodayMr.Gravesdrivesasmallforklift-likemachine.Hewearsheadsetsandisinstructedbyacomputerizedvoiceonwheretogointhewarehousetogatherorstoreproducts.AcentralizedcomputertheworkerscallTheBraindictatestheirspeed.Managersknowexactlywhattheworkersdo,tothepreciseminute.
Becauseworkersaredoinglessphysicallabor,therearefewerinjuries,saidRomeAloise,aTeamstersvicepresidentinNorthernCalifornia.Becauseacomputersetsthepace,thestressisnowmorepsychological.
Severalyearsago,Mr.Gravesand#39;swarehouseinstalledaGermansystemthatautomaticallystoresandretrievescasesoffood.Thatledtotheeliminationof106jobs,or20percentoftheworkforce.
NowKrogerplanstobuildahighlyautomatedwarehouseinTolleson.
paramos; Wedonand #39; thaveaproblemwiththemachinescoming, paramos; Mr.Gravestoldcityofficials... paramos; ButtellKrogerwedonand#39;twanttolosethesejobsinourcity.andquot;
Somejobsarestillbeyondthereachofautomation:constructionjobsthatrequireworkerstomoveinunpredictablesettingsandperformdifferenttasksthatarenotrepetitive;assemblyworkthatrequirestactilefeedbacklikeplacingfiberglasspanelsinsideairplanes,boatsorcars;andassemblyjobswhereonlyalimitedquantityofproductsaremadeorwheretherearemanyversionsofeachproduct,requiringexpensivereprogrammingofrobots.
Butthatlistisgrowingshorter.
InanindustrialneighborhoodinPaloAlto, Califórnia, arobotarmedwithelectronicandquot; eyesandquot; andasmallscoopandsuctioncupsrepeatedlypicksupboxesanddropsthemontoaconveyorbelt.
TherobotusesatechnologypioneeredinMicrosoftand #39; sKinectmotionsensingsystemforitsXboxvideogamesystem.
SuchrobotswillputautomationwithinrangeofcompanieslikeFederalExpressandUnitedParcelServicethatnowemploytensofthousandsofworkersdoingsuchtasks.
Largada-upbehindtherobot,IndustrialPerceptionInc.ofMenloPark,California, willwinitsfirstcontractifitsmachinecanmoveoneboxeveryfourseconds. Theengineersareconfidentthattherobotwillsoondomuchbetterthanthat, pickingupandsettingdownoneboxpersecond.
paramos; Jeffrey #39; reonthecuspofcompletelychangingmanufacturinganddistribution, paramos; saidGaryBradski, visionscientistwhoisafounderofIndustrialPerception-máquina. andquot;Ithinkitand#39;snotassingularanevent,butitwillultimatelyhaveasbiganimpactastheInternet.andquot;
