March 2019

| FEATURES | I t was in the sphere of manufacturing that robots first made the leap from flights of science fiction fantasy and early experimental designs, to fully realised, practical tools. Unimate, an industrial robot developed by Joe Engelberger and George Devol, began its career at the General Motors plant in Ewing, New Jersey way back in 1961, carrying out step- by-step pre-programmed tasks on an automotive assembly line. This was the beginning of a revolution in manufacturing. Over half a century later, similar robots are still an important fixture on assembly lines and in manufacturing plants across the world, saving time, money, and effort during the process of assembly, and increasing accuracy and safety in the process. However, from a conceptual point of view, these robots are drastically different from their predecessors on the production line. Today’s robots are far more sophisticated and capable of performing more complex tasks than was ever previously thought possible. What’s more, there has been a fundamental shift in focus for robotics developers, away from programmed systems towards something more intelligent - something capable of Robotics and AI Smart Machines & Factories takes a look at robotics and AI and the autonomous future of industry. www.smartmachinesandfactories.com March 2019 | 11 |