Technology & Innovation

Robotics on the rise

March 20, 2012

Global

March 20, 2012

Global
Our Editors

The Economist Intelligence Unit

_____________________

Robots are hardly new to manufacturing. By the end of 2010 over 1m industrial robots had been installed globally. Ongoing improvements in artificial intelligence, as well as faster and cheaper computing, are all helping to drive new advances. The automotive sector has long been the biggest source of robotics demand, but as robots have become cheaper and more sophisticated, other industries are starting to adopt them.

Timberland, an apparel company, is one example. It is building a new distribution warehouse in the Netherlands, which is being outfitted with robots from Kiva Systems, an automation-technology firm. David Rupert, Timberland’s senior manager of engineering, believes that this will change the nature of the job for workers who prepare and pack boxes for delivery, whether for online orders from its website or simply distribution to its retail stores. Rather than workers having to move around the warehouse to fetch items, robots will bring goods to them, in the most efficient order for packing, before then returning any unneeded items to their shelves. This is enabling the firm to improve order fulfilment cycle times as well as to improve tracking of stock and achieve greater customisation in orders, says Mr Rupert.

For low-volume, build-to-order manufacturers such as AGCO, which produces agricultural equipment, robotics will do more than just improve efficiency. Hans-Bernd Veltmaat, the senior vice-president for manufacturing and quality at AGCO, reports that over the past three years robotics have already helped to boost efficiency in the workflow process by bringing parts to operators as needed. In the coming years, however, he expects a much greater impact on flexibility and customisation. “What is difficult to automate in our world is the assembly itself, given that we build to order,” he says. “It will take time, but we expect that with better technologies in the next five years, we will get robot assembly that gives us much more flexibility than we have today.”

Enjoy in-depth insights and expert analysis - subscribe to our Perspectives newsletter, delivered every week