Take a fifty-minute deeper dive
Now that you’ve
read the Five …
Back to top
Article
Automation, robotics, and the factory
of the future
Article
Human + machine: A new era
of automation in manufacturing
MIT Technology Review
How human-robot teamwork will
upend manufacturing
Discover more Five Fifties
Take another Five
Subscribe
Sign up for weekly email briefings from the Five Fifty
Share this edition
Article
Human + machine: A new era
of automation in manufacturing
Dive deeper
Dive deeper
Whatever the right combination
of workers and robots, the automation of production is likely to increase, requiring companies to evaluate carefully their own level of readiness.
Ready?
MIT Technology Review
How human-robot teamwork will upend manufacturing
Dive deeper
Dive deeper
But as robots begin learning by watching
humans, a new collaboration between the two may become possible—on the factory floor and elsewhere.
Lights still on?
Article
Automation, robotics, and the factory of the future
Dive deeper
Dive deeper
Camera maker Canon began phasing out human labor at several factories in 2013, while at a variety of other companies, such as Fanuc in Japan, industrial robots are making other industrial robots.
Robots making robots
Article
Automation, robotics, and the factory of the future
Dive deeper
Dive deeper
Besides their cost advantage, robots are capable of an increasing number of tasks.
Task masters
Article
Automation, robotics, and the factory of the future
Dive deeper
Dive deeper
The “lights out” production concept, involving the complete automation of activities and material flows, is becoming more common as the cost of robots falls relative to labor.
Factoring
A quick briefing in five—
or a fifty-minute deeper dive
Share this
Are your factories and warehouses operating
in the dark? They might be soon.
Lights out
In this edition:
