Category Archives: Robotics

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) Rockford Christian High School hosted the Regional Robotics Competition on Saturday, and the winners are heading to state.

Competitors said that they were excited, as they had been working continuously throughout the season to improve their robots.

We are feeling good, said Sara Koshi, Team 7715 Robotic Lions. Its been a long season, we made a lot of changes to our robot throughout. We actually, we started, we have now four-wheel drive, we started with two wheel drive. Our mechanism to pick up the blocks has changed a lot too.

Koshi is a sophomore at Rockford Christian High School, and she said that her teams first competition on Saturday went well.

It applies a lot of problem solving skills, an application of what we learned in class and then apply it to something thats going to be crucial when you move on, Koshi said.

Keith Jeske, the robotics coach for the high school, said that he is excited to see all these hard-working kids and their robots.

So each team has competed in three meets leading up to this day, and each meet, they have improved their robot, Jeske said. They improved their programing, they are working harder to meet the goals of the competition.

Each team did interviews with the judges to present and explain the engineering process of their robot. They had three minutes to collect blocks and stack them onto a three-tier target, and also used a camera to detect a rubber duck.

This is a program preparing future engineers and workers in the STEM field, Jeske said. So its programing, its designing, its engineering, its building but its also the process of going through.

Win or lose, Koshi is happy to be a part of like-minded people.

Its just nice to be here and having fun with fellow teams and fellow robotic lovers, she said.

There were 23 teams competing against each other on Saturday, but only five teams will be moving on to state. The Robotic Lions is one of those five teams.

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Battle of the robots in Rockford - MyStateline.com

Robotics is an increasingly important field across many industries, from education to aerospace engineering. The field is increasingly becoming a lucrative career for young learners, evolving basic skills in math, engineering, and the sciences.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics currently refers to roles in robotics as electrical and electronics engineers, specifically focusing on creating electrical equipment. Many people focus on small circuit boards for this job, but the role also includes positions that focus on electrical robots with advanced systems and controls.

The BLS reports that engineers in this field have a median pay of over $100,000, with an average hourly rate of slightly under $50 an hour. Entry to this field is possible with a Bachelors degree, although many engineers own a Masters degree.

Work experience is important to employers in this area. Engineers who can successfully create robots from the ground up are generally more valued, so people studying for this field often take internships or participate in engineering programs.

The overall job market for electronics engineers should grow about 7% over the next ten years, which is roughly average across all fields.

Electrical engineers are a focus for this industry, but similar roles such as software or hardware engineer, user experience designer, or data scientist can also work in robotics.

One important thing to keep in mind is the difference between robots and other machines.

Machines are devices that help humans perform tasks, usually including labor-heavy jobs.

Robots are a type of machine or, more often, a collection of multiple independent machines but they carry out predetermined tasks and can govern their own behavior. Robots are also more capable of changing and adjusting to different environments.

In other words, robots only need instructions to accomplish their task, and they can work from there. Standard machines usually need direct control and cannot adapt to different situations.

Most robotics and electronics engineers spend their time in office environments. On a typical day, robotics engineers may create technical drawings, meet with engineers, help direct manufacturing, or create documentation for the production and use of robotics systems.

Robotics roles are more hands-on than some other engineering positions. An engineer in this field may visit labs regularly to test the newest iterations of equipment, collect information, and figure out the best ways to improve robotic systems.

For example, when developing a humanoid robot, a team may decide to change some components. This can affect things like the necessary power for moving that part, which in turn requires adjusting the software and control systems.

Robotics is a heavily iterative field, albeit one that also emphasizes rapid prototyping. Depending on the needs of the job, a robotics engineer could be asked to modify software within a few minutes to help testing continue.

Most careers in robotics are also highly collaborative. Developing and manufacturing robots typically requires teams, especially in the testing phase where people will often have specialized roles.

While a Bachelors degree is sufficient for basic entry into robotics, going to at least a Masters degree can open up many more career opportunities. This is a moderately competitive field, so more companies are looking for applicants with extra education.

The most straightforward educational path for starting a career in robotics is getting a Master of Science in Robotics degree from your university of choice. Depending on your classes, you may be able to change to a focus on Robotics after getting a Bachelors degree, especially if the BS focuses on mechanical engineering, computer science, and/or electrical engineering.

As discussed earlier, practical experience is also valuable in this field. Many companies want to develop and release robotics products as quickly as possible, so familiarity with the process can give you a boost over other applicants.

Continuing education in related fields is also valuable. Robotics engineers may study additional programming, process control, material sciences, statistics, automation, and engineering principles.

The important thing to remember here is that robotics is essentially a cross-discipline field. The most capable engineers can adapt to the needs of a project, rather than focusing exclusively on a subset like creating circuit boards to control specific sections of the robot.

Its difficult to define what makes a robotics company and what doesnt. Few businesses focus entirely on robotics, though you may be able to find a career like that if you join a research institute or university.

Otherwise, a robotics company is likely to be a different business seeking to expand into automation and improve its processes and controls. For example, vehicle manufacturing companies have a heavy interest in robotics because they can drastically reduce the time and cost of creating their products.

Careers in robotics are here to stay. While the number of jobs is only growing at an average rate, companies both want and need people with experience in this field.

Featured image: Hung Nguyen Phi, Unsplash.

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Why the Future of Young Learners is in Robotics - eLearningInside News - eLearningInside News

At the beginning of this school year, educational investor Rural Technology Fund contributed toward a project supporting the Wolf-Bytes Robotics team at Loranger Middle School.

Science teacher Eric Ballard sought to add a LEGO SPIKE set and expansion kit to the team in anticipation of the teams second season in the FIRST Lego League.

Ballard said his team operates with various student leadership positions, offering many opportunities for individuals to take charge and tackle projects. With the addition of the LEGO SPIKE set, students would be able to use Scratch programming as well as learn Python.

The Wolf-Bytes have now successfully completed their second FIRST Lego League season, according to RTF.

The team is about more than just competing they embody a strong sense of community.

It was a particularly challenging year for the Wolf-Bytes. The team endured hardships including a hurricane, a local tragedy and the ongoing pandemic, but the team persisted and found more ways to spread good within their district, according to RTF.

Ballard said about his team, During the first semester, they were able to log just over 250 combined STEM Outreach hours. Some of these hours came from attending STEM festivals and providing science activities for younger students, and other hours were spent designing, painting, organizing, and servicing equipment for our new school-wide STEM Lab that will serve the entire student body.

Students dedicated their time to help create the lab, volunteering over the holiday break. They gathered materials from around the building and repaired many items, and it now serves the whole middle school as an evolving, hands-on learning space.

The Wolf-Bytes are currently focusing on training new teammates as they prepare for the WWII Museum Challenge, planning to log similar training hours while practicing with the SPIKE Robot.

It is our goal to make everyone on our team proud coders/programmers, Ballard said.

This story is an edited version of a story posted by Rural Technology Fund to their blog at ruraltechfund.org.

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Loranger Wolf-Bytes Robotics leading the pack | News | hammondstar.com - Hammond Daily Star online

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Marine technology specialist ecoSUB Robotics has revealed how adopting 3D printing in the production of its ecoSUB has helped make the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) as accessible as possible.

While the ecoSUB is designed to offer users a uniquely affordable means of conducting deep sea monitoring missions, it still needs to be capable of operating at a depth of 2,500m, to meet the needs of its commercial and military clientele.

In order to strike this balance between efficiency and resilience, the AUVs creators have therefore begun 3D printing its prototypes and a selection of its end-use components, in a way that has allowed them to make significant cost-per-part gains, without having to sacrifice on product quality.

3D printing is preferred over injection molding as we find the technology more versatile, and the design freedom allows us to innovate great parts, said Jeremy Sitbon, Chief Robotics Engineer, Marine Robotics Systems at ecoSUB Robotics. Also, our volumes are low, so injection molding would not be economical. Add in the fact that with 3D printing we can customize designs for individual clients, and the choice is clear.

The parts that we use in our underwater vehicles have to be strong, robust and absolutely conform to design intent.

Delving into the deep on a budget

Prior to being spun-out by Planet Ocean Limited in 2017, ecoSUB Robotics was effectively founded in 2015, as part of an Innovate UK and DSTL-backed project that included the R&D of the ecoSUBu vehicle. Following the AUVs successful launch and recovery, its creators later came up with a larger iteration known as the ecoSUBm, which could carry heavier payloads, and attracted strong initial interest.

Since then, ecoSUB Robotics has set out on its own, while continuing to take advantage of wider advances in navigation and engineering technologies, to upgrade the capabilities of its submarine vehicle. Using modern micro-DVL technology, for instance, the firm says that its AUV is now able to better geo-reference data collected, enabling it to navigate with improved accuracy, and operate using side scan sonar.

Yet, despite the ecoSUBs growing capabilities, its creators still see cost-efficacy as its chief USP. According to ecoSUB Robotics, traditional AUVs can cost north of 500,000, while its ecoSUBu5 system is cheap by comparison, at around 10,000. As a result, when it comes to applications in hostile environments, where the chances of vehicle loss is high, the firm says its device offers a far less risky option.

Even though the company has been accepting commercial AUV orders for two years now, it continues to invest in re-spinning many parts of its systems, to keep them as accessible and reliable as possible. This ongoing self-improvement approach has led it to partner with service bureau 3DPRINTUK, with which it has gone on to optimize the ecoSUBs prototyping process, as well as its part cost.

The reason that cost is so important to the company, is that they see enormous potential for their underwater vehicles not just to be used by professionals within the military and oil and gas sectors, but also research scientists gathering important information about climate change, said Nick Allen, MD of 3DPRINTUK. Price is key to making this advanced technology available to a wide user group.

An AUV-optimizing partnership

In the process of adopting 3D printing, ecoSUB Robotics says that 3DPRINTUK has been an ideal partner, in that it has not only delivered parts to spec, but used its Design for AM (DfAM) expertise to help drive maximal efficiency from them.

Within its revised R&D workflow, this means that the company now orders small prototype batches from 3DPRINTUK, before integrating them into its marine vehicle. If they work as expected, the firm then goes on to request larger quantities of these parts via its partners SLS and MJF manufacturing services, using both powder bed fusion technologies to take advantage of the unique benefits of each.

There are two different kinds of parts and components in the vehicles, external parts that can be seen, and internal parts that cannot, explains Sitbon. The external parts need to be yellow for the sake of visibility, and we use SLS for these as the technology produces whiter parts than MJF, and in our opinion this makes the addition of a color that much more definite and striking.

By contrast, given that the AUVs internal parts dont need to be as visually appealing, ecoSUB Robotics says that it orders these via 3DPRINTUKs MJF service, as it yields greyer components, but they tend to be less expensive.

Moving forwards, the firm anticipates that it will eventually address all its 3D printing needs with MJF, due to pricing considerations as well as the more exacting tolerances that can be made on jetted parts which lead to improved detailing, but in the short-term it remains more than happy to follow 3DPRINTUKs advice on which technology is best to use.

We will continue to use 3DPRINTUK as we have not found an online ordering system that comes close to theirs in terms of ease-of-use, and the team has an enormous depth of knowledge in material selection, DfAM and print optimization that benefits us on every level, concluded Sitbon. The assessment of SLS and MJF will [also] continue, and we are happy to be guided as to which process to use for internal and external applications by the 3DPRINTUK team.

AMs marine monitoring applications

Using 3D printing, its now possible to produce parts with the necessary resistance properties to enable their deployment within deep sea applications, and a number of firms have chosen to do so in recent years. Back in April 2020, QYSEA revealed that it was working with Farsoon to 3D print protective covers for its FIFiSH V6 ROV.

Likewise, Dive Technologies is also known to 3D print elements of its customizable DIVE-LD deep-sea surveillance system. Having recently been bought over by Anduril Industries, its thought that the AUV could now have the backing required to address the marine monitoring needs of a wider array of clientele.

Norwegian robotics specialist Kongsberg Ferrotech, meanwhile, has unveiled plans not just to manufacture vehicles for subsea missions, but to 3D print on the ocean floor itself. Currently under development, the firms underwater manufacturing technology is set to be used for both repairing seabed-level pipelines, and rebuilding them where needed.

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Featured image shows ecoSUB Robotics AUV in-action. Photo via ecoSUB Robotics.

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ecoSUB Robotics reveals all on the 3D printing technology behind its deep sea monitoring AUV - 3D Printing Industry

The researchers said devices that use the biogel could be recycled and reused to build other robots.

Researchers at the Johannes Kepler University in Austria claim they have created a new biodegradable gel that can 3D print recyclable robots.

The study, published in the journal Science Robotics, noted that materials involved in soft robotics are often non-biodegradable or stem from non-renewable resources, contributing to an ever-growing environmental footprint.

The team said the new gel largely composed of gelatin and sugar offers a potential eco-friendly alternative to these resources.

New and rapidly changing technologies also contribute to increasing amounts of tech waste, accumulating to as much as over 100,000 tons per day in 2019, the researchers said in the study.

Soft robotics in particular needs to improve in terms of sustainability due to the limited lifetime of soft materials or for applications where, for example, deployed robots cannot be retrieved.

In order to test a more sustainable material with more stable mechanical properties, the team used their biogel material as an ink to print a soft, finger-shaped robotic device that uses compressed air to control omnidirectional motion.

According to the researchers, the biogel was not only reusable, its biodegradable materials enabled it to be disposed of with zero waste once it lost its mechanical integrity. They also said the printed biogels can be directly reused by reprinting them up to five times.

This means devices that use this sustainable biogel could be recycled and reused to build other robots that eventually degrade with minimal environmental impact.

The thermoreversibility of the biogel allows direct reuse in subsequent printing processes. Damaged or obsolete biogel devices are therefore easily recycled by reheating the material and printing new ones, the study said.

The team noted that increasing the level of complexity in the machines made using this gel will require more advanced actuator shapes and multimaterial combinations.

Developing suitable biodegradable support materials will solve these issues in combination with multimaterial printing, the team said.

Funding for the research was provided by the European Research Council, as part of Horizon 2020.

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Researchers develop new biogel that could lead to recyclable soft robots - Siliconrepublic.com

ATHENS Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday received and congratulated the high school robotics team Minders, which won 5th place in the 2021 World Robotics Olympiad.

The prime minister noted that Greek schools had made changes that allow children to become familiar with computing and IT applications at a very early age, while he also praised the growing Greek IT sector, which was able to compete worldwide and attract foreign capital and direct investment from abroad.

I am very happy that robotics is starting to make a dynamic entry at all levels of education. The fact that we have distinctions both within and outside Greece is especially important and I think shows how much you love what you do, the prime minister told the school team, which competed with Project Airfield, a flying wind turbine that uses a helium device to rise to a higher altitude than the pillars used by wind farms, where wind speeds are generally higher. This then supplies a robotic greenhouse with electricity, enabling a green transition in agriculture.

The team talked about the programming aspects of the project and its business applications, as an innovative but also practical proposal.

The prime minister highlighted the importance of innovative research that also has practical applications and improves peoples lives, and spoke about a new start-up ecosystem that has emerged in Greece and provides more opportunities for creativity and employment, as well as a participatory culture that spreads the benefits to all employees.

We have Greek companies, Greek knowhow, Greek capital, Greek minds that are developing applications and products that are globally competitive, he said, citing the example of the online bank Viva, which attracted an investment by JPMorgan & Chase.

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Mitsotakis Congratulates School Robotics Team Minders on Olympiad Distinction - The National Herald

The proportion of food manufacturers hiring for jobs linked to robotics climbed to its highest level for more than 12 months, according to analysis from GlobalData.

A third of the companies included in GlobalDatas analysis recruited for at least one such position in January, compared to 23.5% a year ago. In December, the figure stood at 25.3%.

Some 0.6% of all newly-posted job advertisements were linked to robotics in January, versus 0.4% of newly-advertised posts a year ago.

Robotics is one of the topics that GlobalData has identified as being a key disruptive force facing companies. Businesses that excel and invest in these areas now are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

GlobalDatas analysis shows food manufacturers are hiring for robotics jobs at a rate equal to the average for all companies within the researchers job analytics database. The average among all companies stood at 0.6% in January.

The database tracks the daily hiring patterns of thousands of companies across the world, drawing in jobs as they're posted and tagging them with additional layers of data on everything from the seniority of each position to whether a job is linked to wider industry trends.

Robotics-related positions listed in the database for January included, for example, an automation analyst at Nestl in Paraguay, a site engineering manager for Campbell Soup Co. in the US and a series of jobs at US meat group Johnsonville Sausage.

More analysis of food-industry hiring trends:

Europe seeing hiring boom in food industry data analytics roles

Food industry upping hiring in cybersecurity data

Where is food industrys hiring for machine-learning jobs buoyant?

Smart Digital Transformation for the Food and Beverage Industry

Milling Systems for Food Processing Powders

Transformers, Inductors and Power Supplies for Food Processing Equipment

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Robotics hiring in food industry hits year-high data - Jobs - just-food.com

With companies facing labor challenges and rising inflation across all industries, automation and robotics offer measurable relief, enabling increased productivity and a more efficient use of human capital. Two to three years ago, only about 5% of warehouses in the U.S. relied heavily on automation, a percentage that has not increased much to date. But with fewer available workers and increased costs, the business case for implementing these technologies to aid the available workforce has become all the more compelling.

Optimizing the Human Workforce

In non-automated facilities as large as one million square feet, 30% of a workers time can be spent traveling from one area of the warehouse to another to perform assigned tasks. Cutting down on employee transit time can not only increase productivity and service levels, but also save money. Eliminating or minimizing travel time lets employees focus on more complex tasks, and represents a better utilization of human capital.

Thats especially true for industries that rely on a high level of logistics velocity, such as retail, healthcare and high tech, where the value proposition of applying robotics and automation to logistics is often the most pronounced. In each of these industries, warehouse picking often involves collecting several items for packing and delivery to storefronts, hospitals and end users. Robots are capable of picking those individual pieces and bringing them to packing locations whats known as a goods-to-person application. Team members complete the fulfillment from there. By combining robot and human labor, companies streamline their overall logistics strategy.

In the same vein, robots sometimes follow human pickers to deliver picked items down the line, in both cases reducing employee travel time within the four walls of a warehouse. Studies have shown that either of these applications can provide an 80% to 100% improvement in employee productivity.

Automation Across Industries

For retailers, robots aided by information systems and other forms of automation can alleviate the challenges of moving goods through labor-short supply chains. Robots can offload containers at distribution centers, build and wrap pallets, place inventory on conveyors, and in the most advanced logistics centers, even place the pallets where they ultimately belong. On the outbound side, robotics and automation aid in the replenishment of inventories by building new multi-SKU pallets to accommodate individual store needs.

The healthcare and high-tech industries face similar challenges. Hospital systems typically order supplies by the tens of thousands. But to save storage space, many healthcare facilities want that product sent in small, frequent shipments, often to individual wards or doctors, for use over a period of a few days. Highly automated warehouses using robots, pick towers and pick-to-light technology can keep those small quantities of necessary supplies flowing, while maximizing efficiencies and minimizing costs.

Fulfilling high-tech orders often involves assembling cartons based on each-level picks, meaning that different types of items are included in one parcel for shipment. For example, when a customer orders a printer, ink and paper, each of those must be picked and packed in a carton. Robots are often used to pick the items, while human employees scan, pack and ship them to the end user.

AI Transforms Scanning, Wearables and Warehouse Safety

The scanning piece is an important part of how automation promotes efficiencies in logistics operations. By scanning barcodes affixed to individual items, information systems keep track of whats coming in and going out of logistics centers. That data helps companies understand when they need to replenish inventory levels, providing them with unprecedented levels of visibility. By feeding the same data into artificial intelligence and business intelligence systems, companies can also track and predict demand and better understand customer purchasing intentions and trends. Acting on this intelligence, businesses are able to increase logistics velocity and streamline operations, while improving labor productivity, lowering costs and increasing profits.

Wearable technologies are also making their way into logistics operations. Smart glasses can automatically scan items when a worker looks at a barcode, assisting in inventory tracking and visibility. Other wearable applications improve communications among warehouse workers, management teams and technology platforms. By communicating the next task to be performed in real time, workers dont need to trek back to a command center to pick up new instructions.

Automation also adds safety benefits to warehousing operations. Drones can be used to perform inventory cycle counts in multi-level rack facilities, a task that would otherwise be performed manually by employees climbing the racks and visually counting product. Automation and robotics can also help ergonomically by minimizing activities that would require employees to lift and bend, reducing work-related injuries, both chronic and acute.

Some of the latest technologies target the transportation leg to and from logistics centers. By providing visibility to the location and progress of trucks in and out of warehouses, these systems are starting to sync up supply chains from end to end.

Automation and robotics require large investments of capital, so its necessary to analyze each case for its value proposition, and to understand that it might take five or six years to achieve investment payback. If done right, companies will see improved on-time performance, more efficient labor planning, speedier order-to-cash cycles and hefty productivity improvements.

All of these considerations make a compelling business case for the benefits that automation and robotics can bring to logistics operations. While some workers experienced an initial hesitation, many now appreciate the reliability that robots provide: they never call in sick, and they always show up when and where theyre needed.

Steve Sensing is president of global supply chain solutions at Ryder.

Originally posted here:

Driving Value in Your Supply Chain With Robotics and Automation | 2022-02-07 | SupplyChainBrain - SupplyChainBrain

When it comes to the rollout of robotics, the UK has some catching up to do compared to other nations. Nigel Platt, ABBs General Manager Robotics and Automation UK and Ireland, explains why.

Far from stifling innovation and setting back forward-thinking strategies, the tumultuous events of the last 18 months have in fact accelerated the rollout of new technology, as companies seek to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect against future workforce shortages.

A survey of 250 UK SME and large manufacturing companies, carried out by ABB Robotics towards the end of last year, revealed a change in attitudes towards robotic automation, with 81.2% of companies surveyed saying that they are considering an investment in robots because of recent events.

For most manufacturers the pandemic has been game-changing due to the impact of repeated lockdowns, restrictions placed on workforce availability due to staff sickness, and strict social distancing measures on the factory floor, which have reduced production capacity. Therefore, interest in robotics and automation has increased exponentially, and nearly half of the manufacturing businesses surveyed stated that they have plans to invest in robotic automation within the next five years.

And, as the benefits of automation become even more ubiquitous and UK manufacturers better prepare themselves against future uncertainties, it seems the UK looks set to press the automation accelerator in earnest in the next few years. However, it is also true that the UK will be starting from a few rows back on the grid, currently sitting some way behind other nations when it comes to robotic rollouts.

In the previous issue of The Manufacturer my colleague Jonny Williamson highlighted the UKs glacial pace of progress when it comes to automation, and the fact that we currently rank 24th in the world when it comes to the number of robots installed per 10,000 employees, with a density of 101 units the only G7 country with a robot density below the world average (incidentally the country in first place, South Korea, has 932). We caught up with Nigel Platt, ABBs General Manager Robotics and Automation UK and Ireland, to find out the reasonhttps://global.abb/group/ens behind the UKs current position.

NP: At the core, the type of manufacturing the UK has nurtured and retained in more recent decades is perhaps not a natural bedfellow with automation (in the same way it has been in other countries). The emphasis for the UK during that period moved away from mainstream volume, and towards high value manufacturing. The upshot was that low value manufacturing, and manufacturing perceived to be too difficult to put in enough value add to be worth retaining, got offshored to low-cost countries.

Of course, at the time there were legitimate and financially sound reasons to move manufacturing to locations where employment was cheaper, but once there, those new markets eventually reached a level of maturity where automation was rolled out as part of the manufacturing process. And so, products that were relocated away from the UK, were the ones that ultimately suited high levels of automation.

We gave that away, and now its up to us to support SMEs and smaller businesses to start investing in automation, which will act as a catalyst for reshoring right across the entire manufacturing sector from food through to pharmaceuticals and plastic/metal products. It is now acknowledged that robotics is no cheaper to deploy in a traditionally low-cost country, (in fact its often more expensive because of the skill sets required).

So now we can use automation to make UK manufacturing more attractive. And of course, the issue of sustainability has given us a chance to complement the argument for embracing automation in the UK and produce products closer to the intended market/demand. Weve reached an inflection point. And I think were going to see huge growth in the UK for products that are suitable for higher levels of automation, and those will start to level the playing field in the coming years, while also coming under the banner of being more environmentally friendly.

If you look at the history of why weve fallen behind in robotics, the UK undoubtedly has a make-do-and-mend philosophy which is perhaps not prevalent elsewhere. Its not unusual to enter a manufacturing site and be proudly shown a piece of equipment which has been installed and running since the 1940s. To keep an ageing piece of equipment operational (perhaps beyond its natural lifecycle), carries some kudos in the UK and is perhaps seen as an achievement over making an investment in more modern equipment a view that has certainly been to the detriment of automation technologies.

Combined with that, we also tend to have quite a short-term vision on value for return on investment (ROI). That has been a thorn in my side for a long time. In the UK, youll find that if a manufacturer cant get a ROI for a piece of capital equipment in typically 12-18 months, then they wont buy it. However, go to somewhere like Germany, China, Japan or South Korea, and that expectation increases to around four or five years, and in some cases, theyll accept the ROI to be over the entire lifecycle of the equipment. In addition, automation has traditionally been more acceptable in countries with more severe labour shortages than the UK has experienced in recent decades. Very high growth countries have always accepted automation as being the only route to manufacture, simply because there arent the resources to do the job manually.

Take a small country like Singapore (second in the league table for installed robots per 10,000 employees), as an example. There they have two choices they can either automate, or they can ship a workforce in from locations such as Malaysia not as simple as it seems, as a workforce in that environment will typically be quite transient and difficult to retain. Singapore is a prime example of where the demand for automation has been driven forward without scaring the working population. Its never been in their mindset or their psyche because its well-known that automation is a key requirement for growth.

This is an old debate that has long since been proven to be invalid. We can show many cases where investing in robots builds growth, makes businesses more competitive, and therefore satisfies shareholder and employee value. When you automate you also upskill staff and therefore end up with a more skilled workforce, which generally becomes easier to manage.

For lower end, manual tasks, in a dangerous environment, staff (typically middle/low wage), tend to move on quite quickly, and so continuous retraining for these roles is common. So, by investing in automation, you train a higher skilled workforce, achieve better output and a more consistent, higher quality product. Consequently, your workforce retention is much higher, and the savings gleaned as a result can be invested in more technicians and higher level staff on the shop floor.

In food manufacturing and processing for example, the nervousness of people coming into contact, and potentially contaminating products post-COVID, was a big wake up call for the industry. Not only did they have to cope with labour shortages post Brexit, and staff being unavailable due to illness from COVID-19, but they also had to recognise that there were challenges in their processes that are quite difficult to manage in a COVID-safe way.

Therefore, there has been a huge shift in mindset in many food-based businesses. Weve been talking to this industry for years, but they have never really taken that first step and started to really invest in automation in earnest. However, theyre now starting to do just that, while at the same time, admitting they shouldve started sooner.

There are some adjustments we could make in the way we train young people. Were really good at educating in STEM subjects, but there is perhaps room for improvement when it comes to tying that into real world problems. For sure there is still a nervousness around automation in the UK due to a lack of skills. So, we need to plug that gap and get people trained earlier in their career.

An idea that I think is extremely interesting is transforming the apprenticeship levy into a lifelong learning levy. So, people that have worked in manual and traditional industries for the majority of their career, are granted access to apprenticeship style funding, thus offering support for individuals who want to upskill and change their vocation. Currently there just arent enough people that understand automation and robotics.

We need more system integrators and businesses that can help people automate their factories as their manufacturing grows. Its a problem that not only needs an immediate fix now, so that the current skills gap can be filled, but we also need to think long-term and get involved much earlier in the education process helping young people to really understand manufacturing, and all the elements of the real world that make manufacturing companies successful.

Germany, France and Italy do this very well, and part of that is related to the respect for the craft of engineering and manufacturing as a wealth creator. I think many young people in the UK view manufacturing as merely the process of making stuff and, as such, is unattractive as a career.

I find that mind-boggling, because manufacturing is what makes the world go round. Weve got to have the ear of careers advisors and get in front of schoolchildren much earlier, to change that perception that making things in factories is unglamorous. Within the education system Ive heard manufacturing and engineering referred to as oily rag crafts.

That is not how we want the next generation to perceive manufacturing, to say nothing of the imprecision and inaccuracy of that statement. Were seeing a shift, and there is certainly more acceptance that apprenticeships are a good way to start your career. But as a nation I think we need to work on that, to find a way to turn those vocational training and development opportunities into being more desirable as a career.

The need for sustainability complements the argument for embracing automation

Reshoring manufacturing will accelerate robotic rollouts

Investment in automation will result in a higher skilled workforce and increase productivity

The pandemic has resulted in a huge shift in mindset across some sectors

We need more people who understand automation and robotics

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A robot may replace you but there is also a good chance you could be working with it or doing something different at the worksite.

Economists may differ on how the COVID-19 pandemic may impact automation in the workforce, but the pandemic has at least an indirect role in the pursuit of automation by business and industry in the U.S., three professors in South Dakota said.

I would say the biggest impact has been making more people aware of what people in manufacturing and robotics and automation already knew. Before the pandemic we all knew there was a labor shortageand it was only going to get worse and worse and worse, said Pierre Larochelle, head of the department in mechanical engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Joe Santos, an economics professor at South Dakota State University, said while the pandemic may have caught employers off guard as employees left jobs or were sick. Yet, as most employers are already thinking about how to drive costs out of the production process so the push to automation is more general than a defense mechanism because of the pandemic.

Still, No doubt the pandemic has gotten, if you will, the wheels turning, Santos said.

The labor shortage and supply chain issues during the pandemic has forced businesses in all sectors to consider what things should be automated, said Jeffrey McGough, department head and professor in computer science and engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

This is not a matter of replacing jobs. I know the the boogeyman in the 1970s was that robotics was going to destroy jobs. That was the myth that was put out there for very specific political reasons. It worked very well. It scared the country out of robotics, McGough said.

But the research and data can be still be scary such as a recent analysis by commodity.com which says 44.7% of all jobs in the Sioux Falls area are at risk of being automated. The same analysis says South Dakota and Nevada have the most workers at risk of being replaced by automation. But the three professors said jobs at risk for automation is only part of the story.

Industry and business may be looking more at automation now because of the labor shortage but business and industry have also pursued automation to increase production and cut costs.

several economic impact studies on industrial robots showing that its a net zero or net positive impact in terms of job creation with automation. What it does is shift jobs from more manual labor to more higher tech jobs that require more training, more knowledge and more skills, Larochelle said.

Japan pursued automation 30 years ago by investing money in robotics and automation, McGough said. Before the pandemic they had lower unemployment and higher employment rates and higher levels of automation, he said. The country found that one job may have been lost but more than one job was created.

If a job is lost or disrupted because of automation and its replaced by a job requiring more skills, increasing a workers production and reduces costs, that in turn it will result in a higher wage, Santos said.

Larochelle said automated jobs are all around including fully automated mobile meat processing plants.

(A) whole carcass comes in one side and out comes shrink-wrapped meat, Larochelle said.

The cheese on a frozen pizza is added through an automated system, Larochelle said. No human is making your frozen pizza, he said.

McGough said automation includes robots and artificial intelligence include computer software that allows a business to receive phone app payments or automated telephone answering systems at a business. Some jobs may be replaced by automation, others will change, he said.

The automotive manufacturing industry is an example.

Larochelle said an assembly line worker used to lift a tire and install all the tires lugs nuts by hand using a power drill. Now, a robotic arm lifts the tire, puts in place and installs all the lug nuts at the same time, under the guidance of the line worker, he said.

Repetitive work that is now done by humans may be better and more efficiently done by automation, McGough said. But, someone will still need to guide the process and work with that automation, he said.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimated in January 2021 that 14% of all jobs were at high risk of automation. Examples of those are food preparation and land transportation. Low-educated workers were at the greatest risk.

The Brookings Institute said about 36 million jobs in the U.S. were at high risk of automation. Those included jobs traditional[ly] considered lower wage and skill[s] such as food service but also insurance sales agents and real estate brokers.

Santos said the service industry which includes jobs in restaurants and hotels was hit particularly hard.

Less travel, COVID-19 concerns, mask requirements all contributed to a loss of employees and revenue in the service industry.

But as the service industry struggles to find workers, will they be replaced by automation?

At the least, there will be a disruption and displacement in that type of labor, Santos said.

The technology for a fully-automated restaurant was developed about 15 years ago, he said. But, most of American society does not want a fully automated restaurant, Larochelle said.

Santos said there will always be disruptions in low-skill labor jobs but they will always be needed to some degree. The service industry requires a certain number of interpersonal skills jobs that will be needed, Santos said.

Pop culture, movies, super heros make expectations way up here, Larochelle said. Were a long way from that.

There is no Iron Man around the corner, he said.

Robots are just machines McGough said. All these things are just appliances to replace one thing that a human does.

We dont have any general purpose machines like people.

Fancy robots that seem to do a lot of things, are faking it, McGough said.

Humans in the workforce are still needed, the three professors said.

Yet, as the work humans do changes they will need more knowledge of technology, the professors said.

Santos said workers who know even sophisticated skills sets in welding or plumbing cant expect to do the job the same way for their entire career.

A basic understanding of how machines and humans interact or how technology talks is as important as math, reading and writing or the traditional three Rs, Larochelle said.

All also agreed critical thinking and analytical skills will be important as people transition in the workforce.

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Will robots replace my job? Yes and no - KELOLAND.com