Should another company other than GM be credited with the first successful robotic application? Why did Pullman invest in Unimation? When was the first Unimate robot first installed at GM?
Today’s automobiles contain dozens of electric motors. They adjust the mirrors, position the seats, aim the headlights, provide heating and cooling, and raise and lower the windows. In fact, a luxury car might have as many as 120 electric motors of various sizes.
ANN ARBOR, MI—Foxconn vice president Chia Day has won 2016 Engelberger Robotics Award for automating electronics assembly at the contract manufacturer’s electronics factories in China.
MUNICH—Some 248,000 industrial robots were purchased worldwide in 2015, a record high and a 12 percent increase from 2014. Global sales of robots have increased four-fold since 2009.
Whether fully automatic, semiautomatic or manual, almost every assembly system has some type of sensor for inspection, error-proofing or production monitoring. Thanks to new technologies, sensors are becoming smaller, more robust, more accurate and easier to integrate.
Today, GM's Lordstown assembly plant is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Although the facility appears to have a bright future, it also has a checkered past.
Wearable electronics initially trickled into the market with Dick Tracy-inspired watches and healthcare bracelets. They quickly gained momentum, however, and it wasn’t long before the wearables market exploded.