Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1124788
14 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2019 Ford: That's very true. If you look at Industry 4.0 requirements, you're meant to make any prod- uct at any time for anybody in any quantity. To do that, you need to understand the impact that any decision is going to make on the opti- mization of the factory. That is quite a compli- cated challenge. We like to provide assistance to that by providing the data. Today, we're pro- viding it to humans to help make those deci- sions. Some simple decisions are automated, but there's going to come a time when AI is going to start to control manufacturing. Matties: And that time is coming rapidly. Ford: It is. Some people have what I would call close-to-genuine AIs but are disconnected from manufacturing. We need to connect that kind of intelligence with manufacturing to make Industry 4.0 real. The other mistake that peo- ple make is they only consider the automated processes, which put in 80% of the mate- rials in assembly. Let's say 80% of the pain comes from that other 20% of manual opera- tion. We must never forget the human element of manufacturing. How should people under- stand what work they are supposed to do with- out any possibility of mistakes when they're assembling multiple products? Normally, you have a learning curve, assis- tance, mentoring, and tutorials to build up people's understanding of what they should do; then, they do the same job every day with- out any mistakes. When you ask someone to do different things, that's a different concept. We have an augmented reality solution now that uses the same data as you would give to somebody sitting in front of a computer about how to do assembly, but we put it in front of people's glasses so it's hands-free. It doubles the productivity because you have two times the number of hands. Plus, it gives you direct instructions for everything that you want to do. This is the revolution for people. Consider the young person getting into man- ufacturing today. They have career opportuni- ties everywhere, and you say, "Come into our company, which is great and prestigious. You can put that part in that board and do the same thing hour after hour, day after day. Would you like to join?" No, they won't be interested in doing that, and they won't like manufacturing; they may even think it's horrific. Meanwhile, if you ask, "Would you like to come into manu- facturing utilizing augmented reality? You will do a variety of jobs with cool tools and devices, and you will be given the opportunity to use your creativity. We'll also take your feedback, and you will be a part of making the world's sexiest product." That sounds interesting. Matties: It changes the perspective. Ford: It does. And this is how the young people of today are being educated. This is what they expect. For us, wandering around with a head- set on may sound a bit weird, but for them, it's natural. Matties: That's what we're going to have to do to bring them in. Ford: This is the real revolution. The machines are iterative generations to get better and clev- erer, and they communicate and can take that to a new level. It's a given now, in my opin- ion. What is not yet a given is the inclusion of humans into that. We need to work to put together the human elements and automated elements, including robots, to meet somewhere in the middle. It all needs to be combined into this holistic view so that when you optimize the process, you're doing the entire process. Then, when a customer asks, "I want to make