An assessment of industrial robots: Capabilities, economics, and impacts

The purpose of this article is to examine some of the important issues underlying robot technology and to assess its impacts. In particular, robots have a variety of virtues that go beyond simple cost savings. In many cases they relieve factory workers of tasks that are tediously repetitive or dangerous. From management’s viewpoint, though, a robot is justified only when a practical application exists. The simple transfer of objects between work stations, storage facilities, and transport systems was one of the first such applications. In high volume production these ‘pick and place’ operations must be performed accurately and consistently, making them ideal for automation.