Annotated Summary

Advantages and Disadvantages of Robotic Automation

MEC 1281

Annotated Summary 

By: Mohan s/o Ramamoorthy

According to the article, " Advantages and Disadvantages of Robotic Automation"(2017), robotic automation has increased in popularity and businesses are capitalizing on this opportunity by investing in such technology, due to the many benefits it offers. The article suggests that there are many advantages to using robotic automation but also highlights some of the disadvantages that may cause concern to others.

An advantage of robotic automation is cost-effectiveness. Automated robots, when programmed and maintained properly, will be able to carry out repetitive tasks that may cause workers "repetitive strain injury". This means that the robots will not require leaves, holidays, or breaks and the production will "increase exponentially" as compared to the cost of investment. Another advantage is improved quality assurance. Robotic automation eliminates the risk of having fatigued workers who make costly errors. Instead, the production will be accurate and of a higher standard, creating new business opportunities in the process. Using robotic automation increases productivity, allowing the staff to perform other jobs or learn new skills which the business will benefit from, while the robot “tackles repetitive tasks”. Lastly, automated robots can eliminate the risk of having workers work in a dangerous or hazardous environment as the robots can work without harm. 

One of the disadvantages of robotic automation is potential job losses. There are many concerns and claims that humans may not be needed at all if the robots can work faster and more consistently. However, this seems to be false as the employment rate in companies such as Amazon has increased while also increasing their usage of robots. Another disadvantage is the initial investment cost. This is the biggest "obstacle" a company faces when deciding on using robotic automation as there will be a risk of only getting a small amount of cash return after investment.  Lastly, companies will have a tougher time searching for and hiring skilled workers to operate and program the automated robots. However, this can also be interpreted as an advantage as the staff that has already been working in the company can learn new skills and take up new roles. 

This article was very useful for our research, the Solarino Beach Cleaning Robot, as it highlights some of the benefits and advantages of using autonomous robots. All companies and industries would want to know of the benefits before making changes to their design and this article helps showcase some of those benefits. 

Reference:

Granta Automation(2017). Advantages and Disadvantages of Robotic Automation. Retrieved from https://www.granta-automation.co.uk/news/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-robotic-automation/