For decades, automation was synonymous with vast and expensive factories where robots costing millions of dollars would be installed in cages apart from humans. This was beyond the reach of small-scale and medium-size small manufacturers. Industries like packaging, electronics assembly, and boutique consumer goods production. The manufacturing industry is facing one of its biggest transformations to date, which is redefining how automation will look in the future.
This new dawn in the world of automation is being fuelled by the combination of reduced costs of automation hardware, fast-evolving software capabilities, and ongoing labour shortages. These factors have forced small companies to make do with less than before. In addition, post-pandemic trends favouring resilient supply chains have put a premium on local and adaptable manufacturing capabilities. This situation leads companies to embrace automation as part of a survival tactic.
So, what will the future of automation look like for small shops?
1. The Cobots Era
The future belongs to cobots. As opposed to the conventional industrial robots that necessitated hefty safety fencing and unique programming, cobots represent a type of robot whose design enables it to work safely together with humans. These robots are small, versatile and portable, thus able to be moved across a light manufacturing floor and perform tasks such as pick and place, packaging, and machine tending. If a person encounters the robot, the robot immediately stops working, therefore, ideal for use in a small workshop environment.
2. Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS)
For small businesses, one of the most revolutionary developments regarding automation concerns the new ways of acquisition. Previously, heavy upfront capital expenditure was the major barrier to automation in manufacturing industries. However, models such as RaaS are reversing the tide by enabling small manufacturers to lease robots in return for a relatively affordable monthly subscription fee, just like software programs.
3. No Code and Low Code Interfaces
The days of requiring robotics engineer in-house for process automation are long gone. The future belongs to drag-and-drop features. Today’s automated software has highly intuitive and tablet-based interfaces. The manager of a manufacturing plant can teach a cobot what motions it should be making by physically moving the robot’s arm through certain motions and getting the robot to repeat the task perfectly within an hour.
4. AI-Based Quality Control and Vision
AI has made small robots super-smart. With the advent of affordable, camera-based inspection system powered by artificial intelligence, small plants can make sure that there are no defects even at the microscopic level, faster and more accurately than the human eye. This has made it possible for small plants to maintain near-perfect quality without the expensive inspection machinery.
Human Factors
For the small business owner, the above-mentioned future means maximum flexibility. First, it is worth noting that light automation does not mean replacing people but rather enhancing them. Automation will perform dirty and dangerous jobs so that employees could concentrate on solving problems. Moreover, providing employees with a state-of-the-art working environment is an effective way to lure younger staff members who would be reluctant to do routine work at factories.
Automation of the future will be cheap, easy, and not industrial at all. The small manufacturers will not have to stand aside while big companies gain all the advantages of technologies. Instead, he or she can start small, for example by leasing just one cobot to deal with an operational bottleneck.
