Some of the greatest advancements in technology have come in the field of robotics. It is also the field most likely to take human assembly line and other jobs as industry looks for ways to improve the bottom line by reducing staff. Self-driving cars will reduce the need for Uber drivers, Amazon will deliver with drones, and voice-activation is already automating many household chores.
One of the market pioneers, Universal Robots, is offering a flexible robot that is designed to work hand-in-hand with humans. The goal: bringing automation to companies of every size.
Does sharing tasks with a “cobot,” or collaborative robot, lead to greater job satisfaction and less employee turnover? While stress at the workplace often comes from fellow employees, how will it affect workers who have little or no human interaction during their shift?
While the industry offers true plug-and-play solutions for many mundane tasks, insurance savings alone might pay for the equipment.
Who’s using them? Cobots are loading and unloading plates in 3D printers, automating the process of cooking eggs in a kitchen, and medical equipment manufacturers are using them in clinical testing facilities. As for retraining, it’s all done on a laptop – a far cry from the retraining required when personnel change job descriptions. They also respond to smart phone apps as third-party software developers see the potential as well.
While cobots fuel fear of unemployment for the unskilled, artificial intelligence may jeopardize the skilled human worker as well.
Reader Comments(0)