If you’re interested in technology, there are certain industries that often show the best of what we’ve developed as a race. The world of manufacturing is the perfect place to showcase this, bringing in new technologies that later filter down to the regular world. If you compare the way things are manufactured now to thirty years ago, you’ll be shocked at how they differ.
Manufacturing is now more efficient, cost-effective, and better than it’s ever been. At the heart of this change are three tech innovations…
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is quickly creeping into every area of our lives. This is equal parts exciting, intriguing, and terrifying! However, AI has been in the manufacturing industry for a very long time. This technology was crucial in making manufacturing a more cost-effective and accurate process. The idea was that AI systems could be used to replace human beings in a lot of scenarios. These systems are programmed to understand exactly what to do when something comes by on the production line. We see this in food manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, and so on. Instead of a human being physically performing a task on the manufacturing floor, an AI system does it.
Of course, this won’t work unless the AI systems have something to operate in, which brings us to the next tech innovation…
Robotics
Again, a technology that has existed in manufacturing for years, but we’re only just scratching the surface of it in the mainstream world. With robotics, artificial intelligence systems could be paired up with robot arms and machines. As a result, they worked in tandem to completely replace human involvement on the manufacturing floor. Look at automotive manufacturing as a perfect example. Here, robotic arms are used to take car parts, fit them into the car, secure them in place, and so on. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the technology is fairly straightforward from an AI perspective.
Lasers
Finally, manufacturing companies started utilizing laser technology to further improve processes. AI and robotics meant that things could be made a lot faster and at lower overall costs. But, implementing laser cutting systems improved the accuracy of many different tasks. A laser cutting system can cut anything to a higher degree of accuracy than alternative methods. Not only that, but it can also be a lot faster. It means that, when something needs to be cut or sliced, laser technology can do it. Again, this is often combined with the previous two technologies to further improve the manufacturing process.
Naturally, manufacturing involves loads of other pieces of technology coming together to work in unison. Nevertheless, if you had to pinpoint there key tech innovations that transformed the industry, these three would be the ones you choose. Artificial intelligence, robotics, and laser technologies have made life so much easier for businesses in this industry. Specifically, they’ve all helped to minimize human involvement. This reduces operating costs, but it also means you get rid of human error – which used to cause lots of problems in manufacturing. So, it’s exciting to wonder where things will go next!