The role of robots in an electric future

Today’s automotive industry finds itself in a no-man’s land of risk and reward, or it could be said to be facing a contradictory trend.

By the end of 2018, the number of electric vehicles on the road exceeded 5 million, 67% higher than the previous year. At the same time, consumer interest in internal combustion engine vehicles and large cars has not diminished, especially in the United States, where light pickup truck sales accounted for 69% of car sales last year, setting a new record.

Finding the right balance between promises about the future and meeting customers’ current needs is a constant struggle for automakers. To thrive, manufacturing plants must be able to switch from making sedans today to SUVs and electric vehicles tomorrow.

But just as new technologies mean one of the industry’s greatest challenges, they may also save it.

To achieve the kind of flexibility in production and design that the current market demands, automakers will have to rely increasingly on the latest robotic equipment and their expanding ability to collect, interpret and process real-time data.

Unmanned Robot

The latest robotics technology is no longer the over-engineered, complex version of the past, but can provide automakers with the necessary flexibility to switch models in daily production with minimal downtime and maximum value-added work.

As more robots work side by side with humans, many of the latest generation robots are lighter, more agile and more precise and can be redeployed to new jobs after simple reprogramming.

Like humans, many robots have the ability to “learn” on the job, completing one task after another independently, while some machines can move freely around a factory on programmed routes without human supervision.

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are a good example in factories.

Relying on sophisticated sensors and their ability to learn from humans, AMRs can navigate warehouses, unload goods, or move products to areas of use or storage. In fact, logistics has become one of the most automated fields, and AMRs have made an indelible contribution.

The automotive manufacturing business is also beginning to incorporate more mobile, automated systems that work with humans to make production lines more flexible.

By properly integrating automation, workers, and common processes, a production line team can easily assemble SUVs in the morning and sedans or even electric cars in the afternoon.

This kind of flexibility isn’t easy to achieve, and many companies don’t have it. But it’s necessary, especially in the U.S., where the trend toward customization requires factories to offer different configurations for different cars and change production priorities at short notice.

Robot assistant

Additionally, as auto workers age, robots become increasingly important, not necessarily to replace humans but to keep them employed for longer periods of time.

Devices like collaborative robots and exoskeletons take over repetitive tasks that often pose a safety threat to humans, or give workers some extra “machine muscle” to help them avoid injuries on the job.

Perhaps surprisingly to automakers, collaborative robotics strategies offer greater flexibility than full automation, increasing the industry’s ability to reuse and redeploy assets at lower capital expenditure costs.

The latest robots can be assembled together using plug-and-play modules that can be reconfigured as needed to increase working flexibility.

As electric vehicles begin to be built on the same assembly lines as internal combustion engine vehicles, and factories shift away from single models or even single technologies, the ability to shift production and redeploy assets becomes increasingly important.

Robots are more than just a means of automating jobs, of course. They also provide automakers with terabytes of data, both generated regularly at factories and from information collected while vehicles are actually on the road.

In today's market environment, automotive companies will need to stay on top of market trends and actively analyze consumer preferences like never before.

The new ability for robots to work with other robots — different technologies talking to each other — breaks down barriers between departments, helping prevent disruptions that could cripple automakers’ ability to turn things around quickly. This becomes even more important as the growing Internet of Things in cars is amplified by the development of 5G wireless technology.

In conclusion, robotics is no longer an endeavor reserved for automotive industry pioneers.

While robots are not always the solution to the challenges facing automakers, there is no doubt that they will play a key role in helping the industry build flexibility and agility into the production processes needed for future success.