May 2014 • SMT Magazine 11
The way i See iT
Ray Rasmussen is the publisher
and chief editor for I-Connect007
Publications. He has worked in
the industry since 1978 and is
the former publisher and chief
editor of CircuiTree Magazine.
To read past columns, or to
contact Rasmussen, click here.
GooGLEBoTICS continues
take the place of dozens of Chinese factory
workers. Overall costs may be about the same
but will come with far fewer headaches. No
need for huge dormitories or cafeterias. No
30% annual employee turnover. No suicides,
no underage employee problems. No col-
lective bargaining, no wage increases (actu-
ally, the cost of automation will continue to
decrease). Their customers (Apple) get the
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) off
their back. In fact, Foxconn is planning to
use robots in their mega-factories in China, as
well. I'm sure Terry Gou has done the math.
An automated factory, wherever he decides to
build it, makes good financial sense and will
make his life and company stakeholders' lives
a lot easier. Partnering with Google to acceler
-
ate this effort was probably an easy decision
for him.
The growth of robotic systems is accelerat-
ing. The capabilities will continue to increase
as prices drop. The combination of more ca-
pable systems at a much lower cost per func-
tion will provide the fuel needed to drive
this industry at greater and greater speeds.
Google's investment into robotics isn't altru-
istic; it's pure capitalism. And what the dozen
or so smaller robotics companies could do on
their own has now been coalesced and fo-
cused into building the robots of the future.
In 10 years, this could be Google's biggest
business. The potential is certainly there. At
least, that's the way I see it.
Check out this link to learn more: A Peek
Into Google's Plan With Robots.
SmT
realtimewith.com
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Video Interview
editor Kelly Dack and
Blackfox Training Institute
President Al Dill discuss
Blackfox's recent expan-
sion. The training company
now boasts four IPC certi-
fication centers worldwide,
and looks forward to more
growth, especially in the
area of defense.
Do you Know it all? Training is Essential!
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