Robots in manufacturing are a given. Robots in agriculture are a hope for the future. Robots in retail and food service are becoming a reality. Now, robots are moving into another area that has been experiencing labor shortages: construction. According to the Associated General Contractors of America, 79 percent of construction companies want to hire… Read more »
Where’s our flying car? Where’s our robot butler? How come people still have to work so hard in factories? The truth is, a lot of exciting technology is being delayed by human choices. One of those choices is the use of proprietary machine languages. When you have machines from multiple makers, the devices’ special sauces… Read more »
Increasing automation is affecting American workers, and expected to continue to do so. The Brookings Institution reckons that 25% of American workers will face employment challenges as a result of the current rise in automation. They’re bullish on automation, but they still say we need to be ready for disruption. We know that robots ought… Read more »
It’s tough being a third-party repair shop for Rexroth and Indramat motion control systems. Rexroth continues to support legacy components, but Rexroth has never sold parts to third-party repair shops. Bob’s BBQ & Servo Repair Shoppe can’t get new parts. We’ll leave it to your imagination where they get the parts they use. They can’t… Read more »
For every 10,000 human workers in the world, there are just 85 robots. Most of the world’s human labor force will never meet a robot at work. But it all depends where you live. In South Korea, there are 710 robots for every 10,000 workers — eight times the world’s average. Singapore is close with… Read more »
Much of the research on automation’s threat to jobs focuses on the kinds of jobs humans are likely to lose. Driving, financial services, and repetitive low-dexterity tasks are likely to be taken over. Jobs requiring social interactions and opposable thumbs are safer from automation. The Institute for Spatial Economic Analysis (ISEA) has another idea. They… Read more »
If you keep up with news about automation, you might have noticed that researchers have created robots that can reportedly eat, die, and possibly even reproduce. Don’t get too excited. The robots in question are actually an artificial metabolism “inspired by… slime mold.” The researchers don’t claim that they have made any robotic slime mold,… Read more »
Notre Dame de Paris, built 850 years ago, was recently damaged by fire. As many as 50,000 visitors come to Notre Dame each day to experience the treasures of European civilization, enjoy the music of one of the most famous organs in the world, and attend religious services. The world was relieved when the Paris… Read more »
Printing is one of the industries where Rexroth provides the unbeatable combination of power and precision. While newspapers’ print circulation has been falling since the internet was born, innovative packaging has been challenging the printing industry and keeping the presses running. What trends are affecting printing now? Consumers demand customization from manufacturing. This increasing trend… Read more »
Boston Dynamics robot dogs — 10 of them, looking more like a robot centipede than a dog — pulled a truck up a slight grade to show off their power. This is the Boston Dynamics SpotMini, a 66 pound quadruped machine that will be on the market this year. The makers see this as a… Read more »
