Why Humans Will Always Be Employable

There’s no denying the benefits of automation. Factory robots make work safer for people and prevent injuries. They reduce costs, increase production, and improve efficiency. The precision of a factory robot means a better, more consistent product. Imagine trying to swap out components on your motion control system if servos were hand crafted with all… Read more »

Woebot, the Robot Therapist

Barclay Bram wrote about his year with Woebot, a robot therapist, at the New York Times. Unlike robot waiters, robot nurses, and robot truck drivers, robot therapists actually exist. At least, there are automated chatbot apps that provide services you might expect to get from a human therapist. Bram found that he became “weirdly attached… Read more »

Robotic Dresses

Automation can be a wonderful thing. It can improve production in a plant by increasing production speed, or by freeing up workers to perform other tasks. It can lead to entirely new practices and promote the development of new technologies. Automation is incredibly useful in manufacturing, and is responsible for the industry’s current success. Indramat’s… Read more »

Robot Teachers?

We’ve seen robot manicurists, robot fry cooks, and robot welders. Another field that is struggling with a labor shortage is teaching. So could one solution be robot teachers? Some tech evangelists are proposing just that. A global teacher shortage combined with a lot of students who fell behind during the pandemic is creating pressure for… Read more »

Tesla Bot AKA Optimus

Elon Musk is once again promising an unveiling of Optimus, or Tesla Bot, a human-like bipedal robot who will be able to do all kinds of jobs.  Or, as Tesla.com puts it, “a general purpose, bi-pedal, humanoid robot capable of performing tasks that are unsafe, repetitive or boring. ” Tesla Bot has been in the… Read more »

Speed Up Your Motion Control?

Many of our clients are amazed when they realize just how old their Indramat motion control components are. It doesn’t seem possible that components from the 20th century can still be going strong. If there’s a salesperson around when you make that realization, they’re not going to say, “Good for you, making best use of… Read more »

The Cost of Downtime

We help with Indramat repair and reman, getting your Indramat motion control systems back up and running so you can get on with your work fast. Most of the service calls we get come from engineers who need a quick solution to a non-working Indramat unit. They can’t run down to the local big box… Read more »

Uber Eats as an Example

Uber Eats has been facing financial difficulties for a while…like its entire existence. The food order app helped Uber handle the drop in ride sharing during the pandemic, but Uber Eats still loses billions. They bring in billions, it’s true, but there’s very little profit involved. Uber Eats makes money by charging both customers and… Read more »

When to Upgrade

Upgrade. The word just sounds so good. Up is always a good direction to be going right? Even if upgrading your machinery sounds like the right thing to do, that’s not always the case. Sometimes people get caught up in the latest and greatest and they waste money upgrading a piece of equipment that is still fully functional…. Read more »

Is Your Robot a Boy or a Girl?

The question, “Is your robot a boy or a girl?” should have a simple answer: “No.” Robots are machines, and therefore naturally have no gender. But many robots are in fact gendered. Take Grace, the new “nurse robot” from Hanson Robotics. Robot nurse There have been some previous robotic nurses. One was developed during the… Read more »