The Future of Robotic Assembly
Since the introduction of mass production in 1913, assembly lines are still mostly human �� humanoids might change this
This is the written version of a webinar that I gave on Assembly Magazine on March 27, 2024. The webinar is also available to watch online. High-mix, low-volume problems still elude robotic automation. Reviewing recent trends in collaborative robotics, artificial intelligence, and humanoid robotics, I argue that assembly and disassembly might be the killer-app for humanoid robots literally looking for work.
Henry Ford is known as the father of mass production, streamlining the production of his “Model T” enabling cars to be widespread and affordable. One of the key innovations at the time was to use a conveyor belt in the assembly lane that paced the production process. Yet, actual labor was mostly manual and still is today, for example looking at engine assembly at BMW in 2024.
Pacing an assembly line by what is known by the german word “Takt,” or cycle time, is indeed a key idea to make an assembly process predictable. The throughput of a factory is directly related to its…
