Carmakers Rely on Robotics Amid Wave of Automation

Car companies are reportedly relying more on robotics amid higher labor costs.

Although automakers have been employing automation for some time, rising labor costs are set to speed the adoption of the technology, Laurie Harbour, president of manufacturing consulting firm Harbour Results, told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Monday (Jan. 15).

“Automation is the future,” she said, per the report. “More so than we’ve ever seen.”

Car companies have been using robotics for the better part of six decades to make production easier and more efficient, the report said. General Motors began using an assembly robot called Unimate in 1961 to handle die castings.

The industry is one of the main consumers of robots, the report added, citing figures from the International Federation of Robotics, which said the auto sector installed 136,000 new industrial robotic units in 2022, second only to the electronics space.

The report said car companies are likely to add robots and other methods of automation slowly and replace workers as they retire, rather than making any sweeping changes.

“The mode of operation for decades now is ‘ride the attrition curve,’” said Jim Schmidt, a vice president in Detroit-based consulting firm Oliver Wyman’s automotive practice, per the report.

The Motor City’s embrace of robots is happening as robotics and automation are becoming increasingly popular.

For example, robots were everywhere at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, including China’s Kepler Electronics and its life-sized “Forerunner” robot.

Forerunner features an “intelligent and dexterous hand” and 40 degrees of movement in its limbs and upper body, which allow it to navigate outdoor terrain, get around obstacles, lift and carry heavy loads, use hand-eye coordination, along with what the company called “intelligent interactive communication.”

Last week, artificial intelligence and robotics company 1X announced it raised $100 million in a Series B funding round to bring to market its second-generation android called NEO, a bipedal humanoid designed to carry out everyday tasks in consumers’ homes.

“The impact of androids joining our human workforce, on our terms, will be transformative (to say the least),” Ted Persson, whose EQT Ventures invested in the round, said in the release. “We’re convinced 1X with their NEO androids will play a crucial role in the pioneering steps toward the first forays of our technological and human future.”