Posted on 05/18/2021 10:22:01 AM PDT by Cronos
1. Medium sized enterprises are adopting automation at a faster pace.
One of the major barriers to the widespread adoption of robotics and automation is the cost of their implementation. In recent years it has been all too easy for your typical technologist to champion the theoretical benefits of robotic and automation, but the reality has been that the majority of enterprises are simply too small to make the required investment.
But the accelerated change being driven by the 2020-21 pandemic are now causing medium businesses to revisit their calculus. Robotics and automation can yield permanent efficiencies and can support business continuity through challenging times. And a move toward RaaS (see below) is vastly reducing the upfront costs of adoption.
Because of this we are starting to see medium enterprises becoming the ‘default’ market for robotics companies and automation solution providers as they seek new customers.
2. The last mile of automation is becoming the focal point of robotics.
When it comes to factories, the most labour-intensive tasks are those that require human dexterity to perform tasks which are hard to automate, and which can’t be solved using traditional automation or robotics. This “last mile” automation within the factory is a multi-billion-dollar market which remains largely untapped.
But with the advent of cobots and the convergence of AI and other new platforms enabling more capable and intelligent machines (see below), solving the last mile automation challenge has now become a core focus within the robotics industry. Expect to hear a lot more about ‘cobots’ in particular as human-robot collaboration becomes endemic.
3. The convergence of technologies to build more capable and intelligent machines
Traditional industrial robots are typically designed to only handle repetitive tasks on the factory floor. These robots do not have the deep learning capability or the dexterity to solve last mile automation challenges. What is needed is robots with higher cognitive skills, greater dexterity and more autonomy.
There’s now a strong momentum to build infrastructures that combine previously fragmented technologies into single unified platforms that enable smarter robotics. To achieve more capable machines requires a combination of technologies including machine vision, AI, cloud computing, edge computing, 5G, sensors, and industry 4.0 hardware.
4. Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) is becoming a more prevalent business model.
A major barrier to the adoption of robotics and automation, in particular by small and medium enterprises, has been the traditional business model within the robotics space, which was purely CapEx play. Customers typically needed to pay hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars upfront for their robots – far beyond the realms of most businesses.
But now the robotics sector is departing from this CapEx model and instead offering a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) business model. Pay-as-you-go plans allow customers to fund their automation needs with zero upfront capital commitment.
This new RaaS “$0 down with zero risk” value proposition is fuelling the adoption of robotics and automation by medium enterprises (see above) and is becoming more widespread.
5. Better jobs and an up-skilled workforce are starting to emerge.
One of the societal benefits of robotics is that many dirty, dull, and dangerous roles are being phased out. Now statistics show that an even higher number of new positions are being created in the process, mitigating the notion that jobs are being ‘lost’ to automation.
These new occupational categories are higher-level and better paying; and in some cases, will reduce the average hours worked per week and allow people to enjoy more leisure time. Automation is also contributing to more cooperation between human and machines. The challenge is in helping to retrain and upskill workers to interact with these new machines.
6. The rise of data-driven business intelligence.
New robotic work cells on the shop floor generate an enormous amount of data whilst monitoring, maintaining, and managing the production line. Data is being aggregated for inventory tracking, real-time production, predictive analytics, in-line quality testing, real-time adaptation to shifting customer demands, and more.
This is precipitating a huge shift toward associated data-led services as providers are able to offer significant business intelligence to customers by first synthesizing all this data and then helping customers to visualize and understand their own data streams.
Remember that automation extends beyond robotics. I don’t disagree that robotics are the target, but automation also includes replacement of manual tasks by low skill workers by coded interfaces.
One of the societal benefits of robotics is that many dirty, dull, and dangerous roles are being phased out.
a) The number of "good jobs" for up-skilled workforce is going to be small. We do not need 50 million Robot Engineers.
b) A significant portion of our current workforce is ONLY capable of performing "dirty, dull, and dangerous" jobs. They will be out of luck.
c) As AI and related technologies increase, the percentage of "jobs people do not do" will increase. Already, a lot of law school graduates are being replaced by automated systems that handle legal paperwork perfectly and didn't have to go to Harvard. And this goes far beyond lawyers. A lot of white collar jobs will go away.
d) Biden's constant stimulus checks is pretty obviously an early sign of Universal Basic Income -- stay home, don't work, we'll send you a check. Spend your pointless life on the couch: we don't need you anymore.
And oh, by the way, the recent increase in Government Tyranny? The constant control? The surveillance? The arbitrary rules that make many people live in fear?
That’s what THEY need to have in place if they find themselves with a society of pointless ex-workers and everything being automatically produced. The devil makes work for idle hands, and the government is very afraid that there will be a lot of idle hands.
Of course, the “problem” there can be mitigated with a big de-population effort. But Golly, I have no idea how the powerful people could manage to depopulate much of society ...
The main reason outer space is not being used much is that it is so expensive to get anything done out there. Robotics could make space much more profitable and therefore open up a level of production that would dwarf the industrial revolution.
and with the increased cost of labor.
There should be a lot of demand for automation infrastructure. Means a lot of $$$ to be made if you find the right company to invest in.
Robots can consistently make HOT fries, in a Small, Medium or Large box
Robots can pack Fries, a Hamburger made to order into a bag
Robots can consitently deliver fresh hot orders, in a to-go bag, that are freshly made to order, hot, correctly inventoried as they go into a bag, consistently include the correct condiments, napkins and drink
Without attitude, rudeness, or wokeness
And, never call in sick, demand vacation, step out to smoke a cigarette, and will do this all for less than the cost of their human counterpart.
So, tell me again why I need to pay $15/hr for a rude, entitled and barely literate person?
Point made!
https://attackonliberty.com/current-events/deagel-forecast-for-usa/
I don’t know if that’s legit or not.....
Well, the numbers might be accurate if the experimental vaccines are time-bombs that kill people slowly.
I don’t like the vaccines, but I don’t really worry that the US population will suddenly drop to 100 million because of them.
On #3 — I am paralegal in the financial services industry, dealing with documenting our adherence to the rule books of the SEC, FINRA, and the MSRB.
I am running out the clock. The wife turns 65 in 2030 — I am hoping I still have a job after 2026; our retirement plan kind of needs that last 4 years of accumulating before using.
yes, that (automation of repetitive tasks) is what I do.
With BluePrism, UIPath and even the microsoft Power Platform.
Repetitive task jobs will be automated in the next 5 years
a. Yes
b. Yes
c. Yes
d. UBI doesn’t work - Finland ran an experiment and it failed.
The thing is - I definitely see repetitive tasks getting automated in the next 5 to 10 years. White-collar, blue-collar it doesn’t matter, if the job is repetitive it is going away.
So a plumber will keep his job - they need to THINK. But a person cross-checking checks will lose their job
That's what happened in Scotland during the 1800s.
McD’s is perfect for automation. They are currently in testing for this - that’s why I am FOR the rise in minimum wage as it will mean more businesses will pay for automation and robotics
Starbucks more so. They are really a rent-by-the-minute nice place to sit and meet with friends, online dates (and thanks to women's studies, freelancers), a nice remote working space with printers and super-fast internet, and now an emerging need: a dining out location where dozens of virtual restaurants can deliver their food to. A family can order 30 completely different kinds of food, drinks, desserts, with Starbucks filling in the gaps and doing the cleanup.
As long as every hardware component and software is ENGINEERED AND MADE IN THE USA by US citizens and not by non H-1B visa holders then it is good thing.
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