Additional Resources: Glossary, Further Reading & Meet the Authors

This bonus episode closes out Automate Now with three things every manufacturer starting their automation journey should have on hand. First, a plain-language glossary of the key terms you'll encounter as you evaluate systems, talk to providers, and build your internal case for automation — from AI and cobots to TCO, OEE, and Robots-as-a-Service. No jargon, no assumptions, just clear definitions you can actually use.Then the Formic team shares three book recommendations for manufacturers who want to go deeper: Lean Robotics by Samuel Bouchard for a practical framework on deploying robots in real factory environments, The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt for understanding production constraints and throughput, and Manufacturing by AI by Sayeed Siddiqui for a roadmap to smart factory integration. The episode closes with brief bios of the five Formic team members who wrote this book — Saman Farid, Danijel Lolic, Molly Garrison, Brooklyn Kiosow, and Shawn Fitzgerald — each bringing decades of hands-on manufacturing, operations, and technology experience to every page. If Automate Now sparked something for you, this is where you find out who's behind it and how to reach them.Key Takeaways:A working vocabulary of automation terms — AI, cobots, Full Service Automation, TCO, OEE, light curtains, machine vision, and more — makes every conversation with a provider or integrator more productiveLean Robotics, The Goal, and Manufacturing by AI are the Formic team's recommended reads for manufacturers who want to build on what they've learned hereAutomate Now was written by practitioners — people who have walked production floors, solved real operational problems, and built automation solutions for hundreds of U.S. manufacturersFormic was founded with a single mission: make automation easy and accessible for American manufacturers, regardless of budget, technical expertise, or company sizeThe conversation doesn't end with this book — Formic is reachable at [email protected] or (855) 394-5464Automate Now is written by the Formic team — Saman Farid, Danijel Lolic, Molly Garrison, Brooklyn Kiosow, and Shawn Fitzgerald — and edited by Brooklyn Kiosow. Formic helps U.S. manufacturers automate for the first time through Full Service Automation: no large upfront investment, no in-house robotics expertise required. If this episode made you think about where automation could work in your facility, start the conversation at formic.co.0:00 Intro — Glossary of Terms 0:20 AI, AR & Automation Defined 1:07 AMSP, CapEx & Cobots 1:44 Digital Transformation to SI 2:28 Light Curtain to Machine Vision 3:07 Manufacturing Intel to Uptime 4:00 Further Reading & Resources 4:24 About the Authors 6:31 Contact Formic