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The man who runs defence giant BAE’s aerospace manufacturing business in Lancashire has compared the capabilities of modern automation to the futuristic world depicted in a Hollywood blockbuster movie in which robots look after people.
David Holmes, the director of BAE’s operations at the Warton and Samlesbury aerospace and defence engineering plants, said the capabilities of state-of-the-art automation invited comparisons with the 2004 Will Smith movie I, Robot, an American dystopian science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. In the film, highly intelligent robots fill public service positions throughout the world, operating under three rules to protect humans.
Holmes said advances in robotics technology were so impressive that the world depicted in I, Robot was becoming a reality. He said such advances were “almost Orwellian” in character but could mean major benefits for manufacturing. “Greater automation doesn’t mean less jobs. We introduce new technology and become more efficient,” he said.
“We wouldn’t want to say it’s better if we are doing everything on paper and we are using no automation or IT systems at all. All we are saying is that the skills and roles are changing.
“Whether we like it or not, a person can only move so fast.”
The rules are drawn from late science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. They state that a robot may not injure a human being or allow a human being to come to harm, must obey orders given it by human beings, and must protect its own existence.
Companies such as Japanese-owned automation firm Fanuc are developing aerospace robots for riveting wings that could take over labour-intensive and potentially risky tasks but be able to work comfortably alongside people, with no risk to shopfloor operators thanks to advanced proximity sensors and vision systems.
Holmes said there would always be a place for craft skills. “There will be industrial sectors that are niche-product driven and the consumer will pay extra. We want a workforce where the skillsets evolve with market pressures.”