Unlocking Innovation: AI-Powered Robots as More Than Just an Answer to Labor Shortages

by Satyandra K. Gupta, Co-Founder & Chief Scientist at GrayMatter Robotics

The robotic automation journey for most companies begins with the need to address the labor shortage. For example, consider the example of surface finishing applications (e.g., sanding, polishing, grinding) in high-mix applications. These operations are ergonomically very challenging and therefore have a very high labor churn. This is creating a major problem for a wide variety of companies that cannot find people to take work on surface finishing lines. Fortunately, the recent advances in artificial intelligence enable robots to program themselves from task descriptions. The availability of 3D vision and force sensors is enabling robots to perform finishing operations in high-mix applications by accounting for part variabilities and adapting the process in real-time. These advances have led to the realization of smart robotic cells to provide a solution to deal with labor shortages. 

Traditionally Recognized Benefits of Smart Robotic Cells  

The deployment of smart robotics cells helps companies in realizing the following benefits: 

• Increase human productivity and dramatically reduce the need for humans to perform ergonomically challenging surface finishing work       
• Expand production capacity and become more flexible
• Achieve consistent quality and eliminate rework 
• Eliminate programming efforts associated with traditional robotic solutions
• Reduce cost

How Robot Use Enables Innovation and Offers New Benefits   

Once companies deploy smart robotic cells, they realize that this technology empowers them to implement a wide variety of manufacturing innovations. Eliminating the constraints imposed by human’s physical capabilities does wonders in enabling out-of-the-box thinking. Here are a few examples that illustrate additional benefits of using smart robotic cells:     

• Process Innovation: Many manual processes were designed based on human capabilities. Robotic automation provides an opportunity to develop new process recipes that offer significant improvements. For example, robots can apply much higher forces and therefore can use less expensive abrasives and dramatically reduce abrasive costs. Robots are very consistent in force application and therefore can use aggressive process parameters without the risk of causing part damage. This has the potential to dramatically reduce the cycle time. Process consistency also enables us to eliminate some intermediate steps, leading to a reduction in cycle time and consumables. Automation can also use tool motions that would not be feasible for humans to execute due to speed or vibration considerations.         
• Traceability: A beneficial side effect of the deployment of smart robotic cells is that these cells can play a key role in collecting critical information to ensure the quality of manufacturing operations without incurring any additional costs. For example, consider the case of robotic sanding. As the robot performs the sanding operation, it can record the force applied by the tool, RPM, and tool velocities used to process the part. This information can be used to create a detailed auditable trace to ensure that the part was processed using the right processing conditions. This can be used to produce traceability assurance that would be impossible to imagine with manual operation.    
• Digital Twins: Many robotic cells implement an inspection step to ensure that the part processing has been successfully completed. Inspection data can be used to automatically construct a digital twin of the as-manufactured part. This model can also be useful in efficiently automating downstream processing steps. The ability to construct digital twins and perform 100% inspection without compromising the cycle time enables the manufacturer to offer new services to its customers and increase revenues.    
• Sustainability: In many applications, the use of robots is making the process more sustainable from the environmental impact point of view.  For example, robotic automation can reduce the amount of consumables, such as sandpaper in finishing applications. Human operators may prematurely change sandpaper to reduce their effort, which can lead to unnecessary waste. Sensors can be used in robotic cells to determine the optimal time for sandpaper changes and perform these changes autonomously. Therefore, the use of consumables, such as sandpapers, can be reduced because the robots are able to extract optimal value from sandpapers. This leads to reduced process waste going to landfills. Robotic automation also reduces the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by minimizing or eliminating the need for human intervention in certain tasks that would otherwise require PPE. Deploying robotic automation also reduces the associated costs and logistical challenges of PPE procurement, maintenance, and compliance. This also reduces the need for PPEs to be disposed of in landfills. Therefore, smart robotic cells can make manufacturing operations much more sustainable.  
• Improved Product Performance: Smart robotic cells enable achieving much more consistent and superior surface finish in finishing applications. This capability can be leveraged to create products that have much better performance. For example, surface characteristics can influence the aerodynamic efficiency of structures, hydrodynamic forces, and transparency of curved surfaces. The ability to create an improved surface finish can lead to improved performance of ground, air, and marine vehicles.    
• Expanding Workforce Pool: Once reliance on physical labor in manufacturing has been reduced, the pool of available candidates to work in manufacturing increases. For example, people with disabilities are known to be loyal employees with very good work ethics. They also exhibit a significant amount of commitment to their jobs. As automation reduces the need for physically demanding work, it can create new opportunities for workers with disabilities. This enables the manufacturing sector to expand the pool of available workers and enables people seeking work to find rewarding job opportunities. Operating robotic cells presents upskilling opportunities for workers and increases their value in the organization.                
• Increasing Geographical Options for Locating Factories: Reduced reliance on workers to perform physically demanding tasks enables companies to design new organizational structures. For example, production can be done closer to customers or at places that offer more favorable terms for real estate or energy costs. By eliminating the economic pressures associated with manual labor and hiring constraints, smart robotic cells are also enabling manufacturers to onshore production.  

To learn more about GrayMatter Robotics, visit our website. And to see our solutions in action, check out our YouTube channel.

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Satyandra K. Gupta

Co-Founder & Chief Scientist at GrayMatter Robotics

Dr. Satyandra K. Gupta is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at GrayMatter Robotics. He holds the Smith International Professorship in the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California and is the founding director of the USC Viterbi Center for Advanced Manufacturing. Formerly a program director for the National Robotics Initiative at the National Science Foundation, Dr. Gupta's research focuses on physics-informed artificial intelligence, computational decision-making foundations, and human-centered robotics. With over 400 technical articles, 180 invited talks, and recognition as a fellow in prominent engineering societies, he contributes significantly to the field. Dr. Gupta has also garnered media attention, featured in outlets like Economist, Forbes, Huffington Post, LA Times, and Smithsonian Magazine.