Apple manufacturer Foxconn aiming to fully automate factories in three phases
Apple's main manufacturing partner, Foxconn, is planning to eliminate human workers from its Chinese factories in three phases -- something already complete at some locations, a manager with Foxconn's Automation Technology Development Committee revealed on Friday.
In the first phase a factory is equipped with robots at individual workstations, handling tasks that are too dangerous for humans or simply things people don't want to do, Dai Jia-peng told DigiTimes. The second stage scales up to entire production lines, and by the third stage, only a minimum staff is present for production, logistics, testing, and inspection.
Factories in Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Zhengzhou have reached the second and third phases, Dai said. Notably, at Zhengzhou -- where roughly half of Apple's iPhones are made -- only a CNC line has been fully automated.
Foxconn has deployed over 40,000 "Foxbots" so far, and is capable of building about 10,000 per year, according to Dai. On top of the industrial robots, the company is also developing medical ones. Dai commented that the industrial machines can't completely replace humans, since the latter have the ability to quickly switch from one task to another.
Ultimately automation should offer a number of benefits to Foxconn executives, including faster production, cheaper labor expenses, and the ability to outbid the competition. The switch has already eliminated thousands of jobs however, and could disrupt the economies of some Chinese cities.
In the first phase a factory is equipped with robots at individual workstations, handling tasks that are too dangerous for humans or simply things people don't want to do, Dai Jia-peng told DigiTimes. The second stage scales up to entire production lines, and by the third stage, only a minimum staff is present for production, logistics, testing, and inspection.
Factories in Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Zhengzhou have reached the second and third phases, Dai said. Notably, at Zhengzhou -- where roughly half of Apple's iPhones are made -- only a CNC line has been fully automated.
Foxconn has deployed over 40,000 "Foxbots" so far, and is capable of building about 10,000 per year, according to Dai. On top of the industrial robots, the company is also developing medical ones. Dai commented that the industrial machines can't completely replace humans, since the latter have the ability to quickly switch from one task to another.
Ultimately automation should offer a number of benefits to Foxconn executives, including faster production, cheaper labor expenses, and the ability to outbid the competition. The switch has already eliminated thousands of jobs however, and could disrupt the economies of some Chinese cities.
Comments
We are in the midst of the beginning of a new industrial revolution. The trouble is that our government is so far not wanting to admit it. Instead, they want to return to "the good 'ol days" with "the good 'ol boys". The people who will suffer are the average, everyday citizen that is trying to make ends meet.
What we need is a more progressive governance that understand that automation is the future we had always hoped for and that finally mankind can work less and enjoy life instead of slaving away for peanuts. What you are seeing now are oligarchies struggling with this new reality and trying to use it to further line their pockets. But there will be a social revolution. It's an inevitability.
And Trump.
We as a species are planning to goto Mars, now THAT is an area for jobs!
If you want to see the future look at what Elon Musk is going to do with the Model 3 Production lines. That's the next phase in the automation of car making. Camaro's and CTS's are not designed for automatied production. You have to start from the ground up and design the line AND the car together. This way you can make the car using the tools and very few humans are needed.
Recent advances in robotics will enable the likes of Tesla to make cars with at least 50% fewer humans on the production line.
And then if you need the robot to do something different you simply reprogram it and test.
Someday all of these Trump supporters will see his campaign was completely full of BS. All of these promises he cannot and will not keep.
But all driving jobs are at risk.
Nor can dislocated drivers simply switch to another field, like agriculture, or manufacturing, in that those jobs are also disappearing at the same rate.
It's estimated that up to 45% of the jobs that people in the US currently do today are up for automation in the next couple of decades. That's 45% of the workforce, and if you're one of the those dislocated you're not going to just be able to switch to another field, because people there have also been dislocated and they're also looking for work.
I'd advise that everyone watch the following video, Humans Need Not Apply
We in for some serious social problems that we're not preparing to deal with. Heck, with Trump and Company we are, in fact, getting ready to dismantle the structures and institutions we're going to need.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf
The Great Depression had an unemployment rate of 25%. What happens when that number hits 45%?