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How much do robots affect jobs and productivity?

Robots’ capacity for autonomous movement and their ability to perform an expanding set of tasks have captured writers’ imaginations for almost a century. Recently robots have emerged from the pages of science fiction novels into the real world, and discussions of their possible economic effects have become ubiquitous (see e.g. The Economist 2014, Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2014). But a serious problem inhibits these discussions – there has so far been no systematic empirical analysis of the effects that robots are already having. Industrial robots increase labour productivity, total factor productivity, and wages. At the same time, while industrial robots had no significant effect on total hours worked, there is some evidence that they reduced the employment of low skilled workers, and to a lesser extent also middle skilled worker. A first glance What exactly are industrial robots? A machine is an industrial robot if it can be programmed to perform physical, production-related tasks without the need of a human controller. (The technical definition refers to a “manipulating industrial robot as defined by ISO 8373: An automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications”.) Industrial robots dramatically increase the scope for replacing human labour compared to older types of machines, since they reduce the need for human intervention in automated processes. Typical applications of industrial robots include assembling, dispensing, handling, processing (for instance, cutting), and welding – all of which are prevalent in manufacturing industries – as well as harvesting (in agriculture) and inspecting of equipment and structures (common in power plants). From 1993-2007, the ratio of the number of robots to hours worked increased on average by about 150%. The industries that increased robot use most rapidly were the producers of transportation […]

Demand for higher quality parts and products to drive generative design

Generative design enables the design of lighter, cheaper components while maintaining strength and solidity, ultimately creating a higher quality product. For that reason, the adoption of generative design software is taking off in aerospace and defence, automotive, footwear and clothing, furniture, industrial machines, and oil and gas industries and leading to an uptick in engineering throughput in each of them, finds ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies. “The rise of the sharing economy and additive manufacturing will drive both demand for and the ability to produce higher-quality goods,” explained Pierce Owen, Principal Analyst at ABI Research. “Generative design expands design possibilities by creating shapes different from those that humans would create. It idealizes the design by creating something that best fits the constraints to optimise the products for various requirements.” For several years now, industrial companies have used geometric topology optimisation – eroding the geometric shape of a product given a set of constraints to improve performance – and are using it more as the use cases for additive manufacturing have increased. Generative design takes that another step by creating, or generating, the geometric shapes from an engineer’s requirements rather than changing existing shapes. Also, unlike topology optimisation, generative design creates many iterations, variations and/or alternatives for engineers to compare, rather than simply removing unnecessary pieces or particles. Additive will drive both generative design and topology optimization as it provides greater build freedom to fulfill a wider variety of designs. Traditional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) vendors such as Dassault Systèmes, Siemens and recently, PTC, already have or will have embedded generative design capabilities within their CAD environments as plug-ins or kernels. PTC acquired Frustum in November 2018 to do exactly that within Creo. Several of Siemens products, including NX, NX Nastran, HEEDS, […]

TIC-TOC technology moves Tactile Internet a step closer to reality

Researchers in South Korea have developed extremely fast information processing technologies that can help usher in the next generation of the Internet. The technology is capable of sending packets of digital information at 25 Gb/s (giga-bit per second) – 10 times faster than currently available speeds. Researchers at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in South Korea have developed technology capable of sending packets of digital information at 25 Gb/s (giga-bit per second) – 10 times faster than currently available speeds. The technology, named TIC-TOC, is a critical component of the future Tactile Internet, in which information is sent and received at speeds on par with human perception. The technology operates at a speed fast enough to download a 3 GB movie within one second. Furthermore, the TIC-TOC system enables more urgent data to jump ahead of other information packets and be transferred in one milli-second (1/1000 of a second), the same speed at which the human sense of touch works. TIC-TOC stands for “Time Controlled Tactile Optical Access” and is designed to work on 5G networks. The researchers anticipate the TIC-TOC technology will help advance virtual reality and augmented reality in all sorts of sectors, from education and healthcare, to entertainment and public safety. For example, it could be possible to deploy and operate robots in dangerous or disaster areas with instant sight and feel communication between human controllers and machines. When the machine sees something, the humans sees it, and when the human remotely controls the robot’s hand or head, the motion will happen immediately. The same could be true for telesurgery, with a doctor remotely controlling a robot performing the surgery, but the doctor feels as if she were in the operating room because the response is instantaneous. “The Tactile Internet is expected to be the […]

Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidance

Rutger Bregman tells panel that the real issue is the rich not paying their fair share Martin Farrer A discussion panel at the Davos World Economic Forum has become a sensation after a Dutch historian took billionaires to task for not paying taxes. In a video shared tens of thousands of times, Rutger Bregman, author of the book Utopia for Realists, bemoans the failure of attendees at the recent gathering in Switzerland to address the key issue in the battle for greater equality: the failure of rich people to pay their fair share of taxes. Noting that 1,500 people had travelled to Davos by private jet to hear David Attenborough talk about climate change, he said he was bewildered that no one was talking about raising taxes on the rich. “I hear people talking the language of participation, justice, equality and transparency but almost no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance, right? And of the rich just not paying their fair share,” Bregman tells the Time magazine panel on inequality. “It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one’s allowed to speak about water.” Industry had to “stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes”, he said, and cited the high tax regime of 1950s America as an example to disprove arguments by businesspeople at Davos such as Michael Dell that economies with high personal taxation could not succeed. “That’s it,” he says. “Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion.” A member of the audience, former Yahoo chief financial officer Ken Goldman, challenged his comments and said it was a “one-sided panel”. He argued the fiscal settings across the global economy had been successful and had created record employment. But another panel member, Winnie Byanyima, an Oxfam executive director, took up the fight and said […]

Grundfos honoured as ‘Top Best Supplier’ by Taiwan’s M-Team for third consecutive year

M-Team Chairman Jui-Mu Hsieh (left) hands the ‘Top Best Supplier’ award to John Pien, Grundfos Taiwan’s Plant Director Grundfos Taiwan has been named by the Taiwan Machine Tool Manufacturers Alliance, or M-Team, as ‘Top Best Supplier’ for the third year running, the highest accolade recognising exceptionalperformance and industrial excellence amongst its members from the machine toolsindustry. Grundfos Taiwan first joined the M-Team as a supplier in 2012. After winning the ‘Best Supplier’ award for three consecutive years in 2014, 2015, and 2016, Grundfos Taiwan was conferred the title of ‘Top Best Supplier’ first in 2016, and then subsequently again in 2017, and recently 2018. The award ceremony was held in conjunction with M-Team’s annual general meeting. The ‘Top Best Supplier’ award was inaugurated in 2016, with the aim of recognising outstanding suppliers who have won the ‘Best Supplier’ award for three consecutive years, distinguishing themselves as being amongst the industry’s very best. Grundfos Taiwan’s Plant Director Mr. John Pien said, “We are honoured to be recognised once again, by an industry alliance, as a leader in supplying pumping solutions to the machine tool market. This award is testament to our commitment in leading industry innovation by focusing on local infrastructure and technology development.” “We are proud that our solutions continue to rank among the top in the world, not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of serving the needs of the industries and people in the markets we operate in.” Mr. Pien added. In selecting this year’s winners, M-Team auditors visited all of its suppliers and evaluated their performance based on criteria around lean operation, business, technology, and service. For 2018, Grundfos Taiwan was the only multinational supplier to receive the “Top Best Supplier’ title. The M-Team first began as a collaboration between four major machine tools […]

Low GI sugar sweetens Malaysian tastebuds

Sunshine Sugar’s Low GI Sugar, which commenced production in the Northern Rivers in mid-2018, has now attracted international attention. Following initial enquiries made some eight months ago by Central Sugars Refinery based in Kuala Lumpur, significant tonnage of this all-Australian and Bonsucro certified sustainable product has already made its way to Malaysia, with ongoing supply arrangements in place. Central Sugars Refinery (CSR) is one of Malaysia’s most popular brands providing sugar and specialty sweetener ingredients for consumers, retailers, foodservice distributors, food manufacturers, culinary professionals and specialty markets across Malaysia. Sunshine Sugar’s Low GI sugar has helped to fulfil one of CSR Malaysia’s commitments to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that it has signed with the National Diabetes Institute of Malaysia (NADI). This MOA collaboration is focused on the promotion of a healthier lifestyle among Malaysians; with a commitment to spread awareness of consuming sugar responsibly, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and fighting diabetes. CSR Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Hishammudin Hasan, commented “Low GI sugar, sourced from 100% Australian-owned Sunshine Sugar, will play an important role in our contribution to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and in fighting diabetes and other associated diseases alongside NADI.” CSR Malaysia is packaging the Low GI sugar sourced from New South Wales as ‘Better Brown’, and has supported its introduction with a major advertising campaign pitching a wholesome and tasty sugar that is suitable for every Malaysian looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. It’s successful launch in the Malaysian market has led to ongoing orders of Low GI sugar into 2019. Sunshine Sugar’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Chris Connors said; “The enthusiastic response we have had from CSR Malaysia is testament to the quality and innovation that our Low GI Sugar represents.” He went on to say; “Like many countries, Malaysia has increasing rates […]

Better together: Secutech Thailand to return in October alongside Digital Thailand Big Bang

In a boost to Thailand’s smart city and digital infrastructure sectors, the organisers of Secutech Thailand, Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd, have announced that the 7th edition of the fair will be co-located with Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019. The two fairs will take place from 28 – 31 October 2019 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, providing trade visitors with plenty of cross-sector sourcing opportunities. With a special focus on security solutions for intelligent security, fire & safety, smart living, and info security, Secutech Thailand is widely recognised as a must-attend trade fair for security industry professionals from across the ASEAN region. Owing to its wide ranging coverage of all things security, the show has experienced steady year-on-year growth since its first edition in 2011. At the previous edition, the fair spanned 7,000 sqm and attracted a record 250 exhibiting brands (2017:150), as well as 8,420 visitors (2017: 8,326). With a shared interest for digital security innovations, Digital Thailand Big Bang was launched in 2017 to aid the development of Thailand’s digital infrastructure. Organised by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), the fair receives strong government sector backing, and promulgates technologies that improve urban living standards, city management systems, digital agriculture, fintech and the digital economy. The B2C platform aligns with the government’s push towards Thailand 4.0 by creating social awareness of new innovations and technologies that are driving Thailand’s digital transformation. The Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt New Era Business Media Ltd, Ms Regina Tsai, spoke about how running the upcoming edition of Secutech Thailand alongside Digital Thailand Big Bang will deliver positive outcomes for participants of both trade fairs: “The unique positioning of both shows will ensure that trade visitors with complex sourcing requirements are accommodated, particularly with regards to […]

Ideagen Asia Man News Ben Dorks, CEO Desk

Ideagen set to celebrate a decade of successive growth

Highlights include; 22% rise in revenues to £21m (£17.2m in 2017) Recurring revenues increased by 30% to £14m Software as a Service (SaaS) bookings increased by 80% to £6.6m Acquisition strategy doubles the size of key quality and audit business areas Ideagen expects to record its tenth successive year of growth following the publication of its unaudited interim results this morning. The UK-based, global software firm delivered a strong market update with half-year performance in line with expectations and a strong outlook for the second half of the year. Revenues increased by 22% to £21m, while recurring revenues rose by 30% to £14m. Like-for-like bookings stood at £14.5m, an increase of 34%, while Software as a Service (SaaS) bookings showed an increase of 80% to £6.6m. There were significant operational highlights in the year, including the acquisitions of Morgan Kai Group Ltd and InspectionXpert Ltd, doubling Ideagen’s audit and quality inspection business. GlaxoSmithKline, Clydesdale Bank, McLaren and Mercedes were among the prominent new client wins in the period. Ben Dorks,(pictured) who took up his position as CEO in May last year, replacing David Hornsby who stepped into the Executive Chairman role, said: “We are delighted to report on another strong performance from the Group across all of our vertical markets and geographies during the first half of the year. “The Group continues to generate significant international sales growth and momentum in our SaaS business, which is driven by customer demand. This will enable the acceleration of our transition to a subscription licence model whilst maintaining high margins and organic growth.” Mr Dorks continued: “Current trading is in line with market expectations and the acquisitions made in H1 are performing well. “The Integrated Risk Management (IRM) market continues to grow and our success in winning new business, together with our levels […]

Hindustan Zinc Limited and Normet sign comprehensive four-year service contract

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India – Normet and Hindustan Zinc Ltd have signed a comprehensive four-year Cost Per Hour (CPH) service contract covering all Normet equipment in Hindustan Zinc Ltd’s mines in Rajasthan, India. The value of the contract will approximately 60 MEUR over the 4 years’ time. Operational and service improvements are part of the contract: Normet SmartCare service management system enables efficient service management and development of service operations to next level. Additionally, Normet has built a new Service Center in Jaipur to ensure customer service close to customer. Development of new innovative services and training both Hindustan Zinc and Normet staff is also included. “Signing this contract shows the strong partnership between Hindustan Zinc and Normet. Together we have transformed our co-operation to next level – with strong business alignment. We are proud to be part of the development of Hindustan Zinc’s underground mining for even better safety, efficiency and productivity.”, says Robin Lindahl CEO and President of Normet Group. “Normet has shown good performance and commitment to develop together with us world class underground mining operations. The contract will not only improve the performance and utilisation of the Hindustan Zinc operations, but it will also enable driving safety to the next level. Normet and Hindustan Zinc will have a great and exciting future further developing and raising the bar for mining in India,” say Sunil Duggal, CEO Hindustan Zinc.

Lantronix expands partnership with Ingram Micro in China

Lantronix, Inc. a global provider of secure data access and management solutions for the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), has announced the addition of new channel relationship supporting the Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) region. The company has signed a new distributor agreement with Ingram Micro Inc., a global wholesale provider of technology products and supply chain management service. Under the terms of the new agreement, Ingram Micro Inc. will provide advanced logistics, product delivery, and distribution services for Lantronix external IoT device gateways and IT management solutions in China. “As a leader in providing knowledge-driven IT solutions to the Chinese market since 1997, Ingram Micro prides itself on partnering with established brands like Lantronix,” said Patrick Shao, vice president and managing director Ingram Micro PRC. “We’re excited to add Lantronix’s innovative portfolio of industrial and networking solutions to our catalogue of best-of-breed products.” “We’re pleased to add Ingram Micro to the growing list of Lantronix Asia Pacific partners,” said Kevin Yoder, Lantronix vice president of sales. “China represents a growth market for us, and the expansion of our relationship with Ingram Micro will allow us to further our reach and support new customers with our industry-leading IT management and IoT solutions.” About Lantronix Lantronix, Inc. is a global provider of secure data access and management solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) assets. Their mission is to be the leading supplier of IoT solutions that enable companies to dramatically simplify the creation, deployment, and management of IoT projects while providing secure access to data for applications and people. With more than two decades of experience in creating robust machine to machine (M2M) technologies, Lantronix is an innovator in enabling customers to build new business models and realise the possibilities of the Internet of Things. Connectivity solutions are deployed inside millions […]

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