It has the potential to transform the economy as much as the Internet, said Gary Bradsky, a computer vision expert who works in robotics with the US firm Industrial Perception. He was referring to the new generation of robots, which are revolutionizing both manufacturing and distribution (in the sense of packaging and handling). At a Philips factory in coastal China, hundreds of workers use their hands and tools to assemble electric razors. But in a sister factory of Philips in the Dutch countryside, 128 robots do the same job with yoga-like calm and flexibility. The cameras guide the robotic arms with a precision and speed that no human hand could emulate. At the Tesla car factory in Fremont-California, robots assemble cars along assembly lines, and each robot, unlike older generations, can perform several operations.
Near Beijing, Hyundai and Beijing Motors have completed a huge factory that will be able to produce a million cars a year using less labor than their competitors and using flexible robots such as those of Tesla. In America, a state-of-the-art warehouse has replaced forklifts and workers' arms with robots that run from side to side, picking up crates and packages, stacking them and routing…
Of course, machines take the place of workers. But it has always happened, and it hasn't prevented employment from growing, because other jobs are being created, both in the same sector – design and engineering and maintenance of machines – and in the inexhaustible service sector.
