Possibly the largest electronics manufacturer in the world, Foxconn plans to add a half million robots to its assembly lines.

How to deal with the rising cost of running your factory? Get rid of all those inefficient humans and hire robots instead. Citing labor shortage and rising wages Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, recently announced that it intends to build a robot-making factory and replace 500,000 workers with robots over the next three years.

Supervisors will never have to hear about bathroom breaks again.

Hon Hai, parent company of manufacturing giant Foxconn, which assembles the iPhone and iPad for Apple as well as products for Sony and Nokia. Hon Hai already has 10,000 robots busy at work in its factories, and they’re not wasting any time with their plan to increase the number of robots to one million by 2013. Earlier this month the company announced their plans to build a $3.3 billion “intelligent” technology park in Taichung, Taiwan. That intelligence will come from CNC (computerized numerically controlled) devices, servo drivers and motors, and robots.

Part of the driving force behind the company’s robotization is China’s booming economy. With about 800,000 employees and a yearly revenue of about $60 billion, Foxconn may be largest electronics maker. The company has made its name largely on cheap national labor. But as China’s economic growth has led to increases in worker wages and, at the same time, increased demand for the electronics that Hon Hai makes. Hon Hai’s company chairman Terry Gou, among China’s richest men, spoke at a ceremony where he signed a letter of intent to invest $3.3 billion in greater Taichung. He said the robots will increase the production value of Foxconn by about $4 billion over the next three to five years and create about 2,000 new jobs.

Rumors in the past had pointed to FRIDA as Foxconn’s robot of choice, made by the Swiss robotics company ABB. But evidently Foxconn isn’t going to wait around for the robots to come to them. And considering the sheer number of robots they plan on building and putting in their factories, it makes more sense for the company to custom-design and build themselves. The program’s initial cost is estimated to be about $223 million, but it should pay off in the long run.

After a spate of jumping suicides, Foxconn began setting up nets like these.

Foxconn is long due for some positive change. A string of suicides at several Foxconn campuses have drawn international scrutiny and criticism. The companies factories are models of efficiency, with a production line scheme designed in such a way that “no worker will rest even one second,” Li Quang, executive director of the labor rights group China Labor Watch, told the New York Times. Between March and May of 2010 nine Foxconn employees leapt to their deaths from Foxconn factory rooftops. Foxconn responded by installing catch nets around their high-risk buildings. Over the past 15 months 14 Foxconn workers have died in what looks to be suicides. Of course, installing half a million robots will most likely lead to much of Foxconn’s workforce looking for other jobs. But the company insists its intention is not to replace humans, but to move humans from jobs that are “dangerous and monotonous” and free them up to do jobs that take more thoughtful research and development. I’ll believe that when I see it.

If his workers might not be, Gou is certainly excited about his company’s coming robot revolution. “The investment marks the beginning of Hon Hai’s bid to build an empire of robots,” read a statement from the Central Taiwan Science Park authorities. At the ceremony, Gou declared that Hon Hai will build an “intelligent robotics kingdom” in the coming years.

“Empire of robots”…”robotics kingdom”…I wonder if Mr. Gou has some bigger plans for his army of robots. Sorry, probably a bad choice of words.

When the robots roll out onto the factor floor, they’ll join the warehouse floor-scooting Kiva and other robots that are revolutionizing industry automation. Pretty soon it’s going be strange to see a human on a factory floor. But at least they’ll still need humans to do the more intelligent and creative decision-making jobs. You know, the kind that Watson is studying for right now.

[image credits: Wired, Google, and MS-NBC]
image 1: Foxconn
image 2: Foxconn2
image 3: Foxconn3

FRIDA may not have a head, but otherwise it's a good stand in for human workers.

If a human worker can do it, why not a robot? Swiss robotics giant ABB recently unveiled a new concept robot that showcases how the company is aiming to have humanoid machines work side by side with people in manufacturing environments. FRIDA is a headless torso with two arms, each with seven degrees of freedom and a wide range of motion. Roughly the size of a small human, FRIDA can perform many of the same tasks as a two-armed person, yet its servos are gentle enough, and its sensors smart enough, to keep it from causing injury to any biological coworkers that run into it. Check out the robot’s capabilities in the demo video below, followed by some great pics. While it’s still only a concept piece, there’s little doubt that robots like FRIDA could replace many of the remaining human workers in factories. The only question is if/when these robots will be available and cheap enough to be purchased by small scale manufacturers around the world.

FRIDA, which stands for Friendly Robot for Industrial Dual-arm Assembly, represents what most industrial robots aren’t: light weight, padded, adaptable to multiple assembly lines, human-safe, human-sized, human-shaped, and (supposedly) inexpensive. ABB’s strategy seems to be to make FRIDA as human as possible. It has the same basic shape and range as a small adult, the same number of degrees of freedom in its arms, and can be connected to vision cameras to give it optical awareness as well. This theme continues into aesthetics. Most ABB arm robots are big and orange to signal their danger to passing humans. FRIDA was purposefully designed to be light colored and approachable.

Rather than custom installations, each FRIDA would be able to fit into new situations as your business required. Sort of the industrial robotics equivalent of a wild card. ABB claims that, “normally, no safeguarding or enclosing of any kind is required, which allows for very fast installation, commissioning and relocation.” According to ABB’s concept, you could pick FRIDA up, move it to a station, get it to perform a task and then move it to a different station to complete other work. A single robot with multiple applications around the factory, or a fleet of such robots at your disposal – it’s up to you. And because it can operate alongside humans without injury, factory owners can find ways of combining human and robot labor in the same workspace – dropping in machines as human replacements where possible without having to convert the entire line.

This new approach is suited to the areas where traditional industrial robotics have yet to infiltrate: low-capital small scale manufacturers whose products are labor intensive and not easily automated at every stage. (There’s also possibilities in large capital endeavors that still require human labor – like memory card assembly.) If FRIDA can successfully conquer this niche it will be opening up a huge number of new businesses (or parts of businesses) to automation, which is why it’s so understandable that ABB is pursuing this avenue of research. As we’ve discussed before, it seems like Rodney Brooks is aiming for the same niche with his new company, Heartland Robotics.

Of course, it’s still not clear which company will be the first to move beyond concepts and promises to an actual robot that any business can buy. FRIDA is a great concept, but hasn’t gone beyond the pilot phase. In these trials ABB admits that “tray handling and bin picking remain challenging operations for the robot.” In other words, it’s not a one-to-one replacement for humans even in stereotypical repetitive tasks. While ABB claims FRIDA will be easily programmable and adaptable to new situations, they haven’t given any details as to how that programming will actually work. Will it require a laptop, or could you simply show the robot what to do? We also have no idea about what the final price for FRIDA will be. Until ABB clears up these questions there’s no telling if FRIDA will be a new industry defining standard or a flop.

Yet I’m very certain that robots will continue to infiltrate all levels of manufacturing. Human labor is relatively expensive compared to the long term costs of automation, even in historically cheap labor markets like Asia and South America. Any task that is repetitive is essentially up for grabs, and it’s only a matter of time until robots get cheap and smart enough to take up those tasks. While ABB, and the robotics industry as a whole, sees this progress as job creating and economically positive (by increasing productivity and keeping manufacturing local), the debate over automation rages on. Rightfully so. Take a good look at FRIDA in the pictures below. No head, just a pair of smart arms that can do things over and over again without stopping. To many businesses that’s the perfect assembly line worker.

FRIDA can work in groups...

...or with humans.

It's easy to lift...

...and install.

It can handle delicate work...

...over a wide range of motion.

[image credits: ABB]
[video credit: ABB via TheRobotCity]
[sources: ABB]

ABB's latest industrial robot can glide along a rail while performing complex tasks at high speed. One robot, many jobs - humans just can't win when it comes to manufacturing.

The modern factory is the natural habitat for the latest generation of industrial robots, and we’re seeing some impressive results from that environment’s natural artificial selection. One of ABB’s latest robots can glide along a horizontal rail for up to 33m while performing complex tasks or carrying a payload of 150 kg. The IRB 6620LX is a five axes robotic arm suitable for welding, grinding, assembly, or materials handling. According to its press release, it’s only been on sale since October, so I doubt its permeated through to your local factory. Still, seeing this thing in action, I can just imagine a whole plant full of these things zipping around back and forth, juggling multiple tasks on the same line. Watch the 6620LX get put through its paces in the video below, and don’t miss the “robot-view” footage starting at 0:47.

Sometimes I find myself cheerleading robots just because they look cool. Which I’m totally okay with, but I don’t want to ignore the bigger picture here. Sure, ABB makes some impressive bots, and the 6620LX even beats the old “soda can” trick we love so much by dodging at high speeds through wine glasses (0:52). More importantly though, industrial robots as a whole are getting more versatile, able to work in many different applications using the same basic platform. The 6620LX could be spot welding a car in one factory, and moving baked goods in another. The same goes for all the other industrial robot arms we’ve seen lately. Robots have already taken over manufacturing to such a degree that we can see entire factories with a minimum of human workers. Now we’re creating the next generation of these industrial juggernauts, and they’re only going to increase their dominance in the field. As automation and robotics continue to advance we’ll see manufacturing continue through this mechanized revolution. The end result is likely to be cheaper goods, faster production, and a shift in the human labor force. That’s an exciting and scary prospect. And it’s amazing to watch in action.

[image and video credit: ABB Robotics]
[source: ABB Robotics]

Carnegie Mellon students got this ABB robot to tag a wall using the new Graffiti Markup Language.

Dang-blasted kids with their music, and their clothes, and no respect for authority. They’ve gone and corrupted law-abiding robots, teaching them how to graffiti! Students at Carnegie Mellon University’s new Fabrication Lab programmed an ABB robot (4400 model) to graffiti using a two inch black marker. The ‘tags’ were downloaded from #000000book, a website where graffiti artists can record digital copies of their signature work. The CM students then converted those digital records into motion controls for the robot and – bam! – instant robot delinquent. Check out the video after the break to see the ‘Robotagger’ robot mark its turf.

The project was the brainchild of Golan Levin who gives more details in his blog. The graffiti tags you see in the following video were developed by an artist with Lou Gehrig’s disease named Tony Quan (aka Tempt). They were created using Eye Writer, an eye tracking software. So the Robotagger may be the arm, but the creative spark is still human.

Graffiti artists and technology hackers would seem to have a lot in common. #000000book is just one way in which its creators, the Free Art & Technology Lab (F.A.T,), have tried to bring open source to street artists. They’re also the brains behind Eye Writer and many other projects.  Here we have a synergistic hybridization of artists, programmers, and hackers bringing make culture into the world of graffiti. I really enjoyed the following video which explains the scope of their GML (graffiti markup language) format for recording graffiti tags.

Did you see the building-sized graffiti light show at 0:33? That’s the work of the Graffiti Research Lab, whose project uses a laser to temporarily tag a building. We first heard about it from a commenter on our story about building-sized projectors. Its’ a cool concept. And so is GML, #000000book and the Carnegie Mellon graffiti bot. All of these projects demonstrate a technical know how and love of street art that makes me very proud of the upcoming generation. Ingenuity, creativity, and hard work aren’t dead. The traditional “counter-culture” has evolved into something new with the help of digital media. Just think about all the awesome open source and do it yourself projects we’ve seen in the last year: telepresence robots, computerized clothing, the muralizer, and many others. These aren’t conventional art forms by any means, but they’re really cool and a good sign of what my be coming in the near future.

[screen capture: Golan Levin and CMU Fabrication Lab]
[video credits: Golan Levin, Carnegie Mellon, F.A.T.]

ABB's Super Fast Industrial Robots Perform the Fanta Challenge

Humans may still be king when it comes to creativity or reasoning, but when it comes to raw speed, precision, and repetition, its all about the robots.  To prove this point, and to showcase its robotic prowess, ABB robotics has released an impressive pair of promotional videos (embedded below) that you don’t want to miss.  In these “Fanta Challenges” ABB’s robots move metal rods in between six packs of Fanta soda cans at a blistering pace with only 1 millimeter of clearance between the metal rod and the cans.  The feat would already be impressive if the 6 pack of cans was stationary, but then ABB ups the ante by putting the cans on a tray and programming another robot to rapidly move the tray around.

When first viewing the videos the achievement may seem too incredible to believe.  Can robots really move a metal rod in between this rapidly moving maze of cans without collapsing into a confused pile of metallic mess?  The path, although intricate and moving, is a fixed path that changes in a predictable, spatially consistent pattern.   As such, no artificial intelligence or complex programming is required to get the ABB robots to perform their impressive trick.  Success simply requires the robots to plot out their respective paths with the proper speed and precision, skills that robots, especially those from ABB, are particularly good at.  By synchronizing the speed adjustment of each of the robots, the speed of the entire exercise can be slowed or sped up as desired with a simple control pad, as shown in the videos.  The first video is the original Fanta Challenge released by ABB in February 2009.  Lets check it out:

Now below watch the even more impressive followup video released by ABB just days ago:

With its beautiful signature orange industrial robots, including our recently reviewed tiny IRB20 robot, and the speedy flexpicker robot, ABB is definitely making some waves in the industry.  You have to hand it to ABB for leveraging the internet to promote its robots with an extensive website and tons of promotional videos available on Youtube.  Now, if they could just consult with somebody about the terrible music they keep choosing for their videos, they might really be on to something.

Seen here next to its controller, the ABB IRB 120 is the world's smallest industrial robot.

The world of industrial robots has welcomed the next master manipulator, the IRB20. From ABB (NYSE: ABB), the people who brought you the Flexpicker, IRB20 is not only deft, it’s also small. Weighing just 25kg, it still has a reach of more than half a meter and will likely function as an assembly line sorter and assembler. While the IRB20 sounds good on paper, it looks really cool in video. Check out the clip after the break, and I apologize, again, for the robotics industry’s obsession with pairing robot videos with bad techno music.

As robots move firmly into every aspect of manufacturing human concerns are being replaced by engineering restrictions. Look at a human worker and you have to consider experience, salary, and expectations. Look at a robotic worker and you have to consider space, weight, and versatility. In these realms the IRB20 really stands out. It has a small footprint, weighs little, and has a huge range of motion and applications. All that and it looks good dancing (check the video). It’s the robotic equivalent of a recent college graduate eager to please around the office.

Watching the IRB20 glide around glibly on its six axes, I’m struck by the notion that this bot could probably outperform me in about any manual task I’d care to try. The robot takes up very little room (just 180mm X 180mm), can reach 112mm below its base, weighs around 25 kg, and is easily mounted in any position. Human workers have much larger work areas ( > 500mm x 500mm), can sometimes touch their toes, weigh around 70+ kg, and mounting them…ok, let’s not go there. The fact is, that many assembly line workers will look at IRB20 and see their eventual replacement.

Which may or may not be a bad thing for assembly line workers. As robotics take over a large portion of manual manufacturing efficiency will increase, as will profits. More profits at a company generally leads to more jobs. The kinds of manufacturing jobs humans are used for may be changing, but the number of jobs at manufacturing companies may not decline. Growth in service, maintenance, and administration will likely accompany the continuing roboticization of factories.

How can you beat that range of motion?

Of course, no matter their effect on employment, robots are going to continue increasing their dominance in industrial work. ABB has already installed 160,000 robots worldwide, and the IRB20 is poised to be a best seller. Whether you look at the robotic workforce and see increased human leisure time, or can only lament the decline of the human worker, the end results are the same. The future of our economy is going to be a blend of human and robot labor, and the human labor is going to be less manual than it was before. So, for better or worse, let’s welcome the IRB20 to the job. It has some big shoes to fill.