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SKF officials have jumped into the humanoid robot market with a new joint venture with LeaderDrive, a Chinese company focused on high-precision transmission components for robot joints.
SKF is focusing on the application of humanoids powered by Embodied AI technology in industrial settings after a thorough study to identify a potential role for the company in the humanoid market, concluding it should focus on humanoids for industrial applications.
We don't know if any of the bearings that would be part of a humanoid robots product would ever make its way to SKF's Falconer manufacturing facility, but it is interesting that humanoid robots have popped up twice in news stories in the region in a relatively short period of time. While Salamanca's proposal to use a humanoid robot to teach STEAM classes for juniors and seniors was controversial and will be a topic of conversation for months to come, SKF's entry into the humanoid robotics market won't be nearly as big a talking point locally even though it could be a major change, eventually, in the way manufacturing is handled.
We hear a lot about the challenges of hiring in skilled manufacturing. It can be difficult to find employees to fill the shifts employers have available or employees who have the skills some manufacturers need. The use of robots or machines is nothing new in manufacturing, but humanoid robots could bring more flexibility in the way robots are used on shop floors around the world. The humanoid form aligns well with shops that are already designed for people. Manufacturing lines wouldn't have to be redesigned because humanoid robots can use existing tools and workstations.
There's a lot of buzz now, but real application is likely years away. There needs to be significant advances in humanoid robotics for the machines to be ready for manufacturing work. But the time is right to begin a conversation about how such advances can be integrated into society. We talk a lot about jobs in our local economy, the need to both attract new companies and to train a workforce for new and existing manufacturers. What does it mean for a county like ours when the manufacturing sector needs fewer human workers?
A shift is coming – not tomorrow, not by the end of the year or even in the next five or perhaps 10 years. But it is coming. We need to be ready.