| Article ID: | iaor19881107 |
| Country: | United States |
| Volume: | 35 |
| Issue: | 2/3 |
| Start Page Number: | 133 |
| End Page Number: | 148 |
| Publication Date: | Apr 1989 |
| Journal: | Technological Forecasting & Social Change |
| Authors: | Arai Tamio |
A model of technological effect on automation in the automobile industry is proposed, and the rate of automation of the final assembly line is predicted by means of introducing robot technology into the line. Assembly processes are defined as a function of properties of both parts and robots. By means of analyzing properties of parts, the difficulty of assembly is evaluated. The rate of automation of final automobile assembly will be between 35% and 75% in the year 2000. Robots necessary for assembly automation will require a large working space and up to 9 degrees of freedom.