Lyon, France, May 13, 2015 -- Recently published studies all agree on the big trends that are shaping smart factories or Industry 4.0:
- Sustainable industry that minimizes energy consumption and waste production while incorporating recycling in the value chain.
- The integration of digital technology. The emergence of 3D printers is taking part in this transformation, though we don’t yet know exactly what their impact will be.
- Automation and “advanced” robotics are a given, with artificially intelligent systems, collaborative robots enabling the automation of new tasks and the use of robots at small and medium-sized companies. Digital transformation and robotics transformation converge in intelligent systems that are agile and flexible, with streamlined integration, improved programming and reduced implementation costs.
This inevitably leads us to the question of the role human beings will play in the factory of the future, a question sometimes oversimplified and asked strictly in terms of impact on employment. Indeed, as industry drives a large share of the value creation in the European economy, Europe clearly needs to “re-industrialize”. Yet, the share of industry in the Continent’s GDP has fallen from 20% to 15% over the past 15 years.
We are living in a fast-changing world full of uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. There is no simple answer to the question of “robotics and employment”. To be sure, we have to ready ourselves for a deep transformation of our society. In this case, why not adopt a more positive vision of how robotics can benefit industry, rather than simply echo the “doom-and-gloom” outlook of the future so often promoted? Whereas the futurist studies what tomorrow is going to look like, the visionary attempts to create a desirable future.
With this in mind, let us imagine a world where on factory assembly lines robots and humans work side-by-side, perfectly complementing one another. A world in which workers no longer have to carry heavy loads, and where difficult handling tasks are performed by intelligent vehicles. Originally a purely industrial solution, collaborative robots – “cobots” for short – are now becoming a solution for enhanced workstation ergonomics and for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders.
Instead of measuring the solely economic impact, what if we measured improvement in workers’ quality of life, well-being and personal development thanks to the technological progress that Industry 4.0 offers? And what if more technological innovation, more investment in production machinery and more robots in factories enabled not only higher productivity and greater competitiveness, but also gave more meaning and humanity to our relationship to work?
Innorobo’s international cycle of conferences (from 1 to 3 July 2015 at Lyon’s Cité Internationale) addresses Factories of the Future with the contribution of researchers, entrepreneurs and visionaries from around the globe. Over 3 days, Innorobo unites a vast “business ecosystem” that interactively builds a shared vision of industry and of the economic spheres most heavily impacted by what robotics technologies can bring for a sustainable, desirable society.
The exhibitors at Innorobo 2015 and the conferences dealing with this topic are listed at the event site, http://innorobo.com/2015-exhibitors/, in the Factories of the Future tab.
Discover our panel of renowned speakers on the subject:
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Rodney Brooks
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How Collaborative Robots are Changing Manufacturing and Logistics
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Andre Wegner
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The Power of Distributed Manufacturing
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Pascal Lafourcade
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Which security for the Factories of the Future
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Fabien Bardinet
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The Next Generation Material Handling
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