In a groundbreaking development, the Pacific Northwest is set to witness the inauguration of the world’s first large-scale humanoid robot factory, ominously dubbed “RoboFab.”
Damion Shelton, the CEO of Agility Robotics, revealed in an unsettling interview with Axios that the company aims to produce a staggering 10,000 robots at its new facility, heralding a significant shift in the landscape of robotic manufacturing.
Agility Robotics, a company founded in 2016, is poised to transform from a marginal player into one of the foremost producers in the United States. Referring to their walking and working robots as “humanoids,” Shelton emphasized the urgency of deploying robots swiftly, stating, “We’ve placed a very high priority on just getting robots out there as fast as possible.”
The company’s transition from its modest Tangent, Oregon factory to the expansive RoboFab plant in Salem signifies a leap towards dominance in the burgeoning robotics industry.
Shelton envisions RoboFab as a facility with the capacity to manufacture 10,000 robots annually at its peak, a staggering ambition considering that Agility Robotics has, until now, produced a mere 100 robots. The “Digit” model, a bipedal robot, has garnered attention, particularly after Amazon revealed its ongoing testing for potential integration into its own factories.
As the specter of mass automation looms, the move by Agility Robotics aligns with global trends. Just a month prior, China urged its private sector to accelerate the development of humanoid robot manufacturing facilities, with a goal to achieve mass production by 2025 and establish global leadership by 2027. The implications for human workers, who may face displacement due to automation, remain a significant concern.
While neither China nor Agility Robotics has addressed the potential impact on human employment, Amazon, a key player in adopting robotic technology, has at least acknowledged the challenges. In collaboration with MIT, the company initiated a study to examine how automation affects human workers. Amazon’s claim that the deployment of 750,000 robots has created over 700 new job categories for human workers underscores the complex interplay between automation and employment.
As the RoboFab factory prepares to redefine the scale of humanoid robot production in this age of automation, the ethical dimensions of displacing human workers in favor of robotic efficiency become increasingly pertinent.
The question lingers: is the relentless pursuit of automation, led by giants like Amazon, a harbinger of progress or a perilous road for human labor?