This Is Robotics: Radio News #18

Hi everyone and welcome, I’m Tom Green, your host for this episode of  This Is Robotics, and your fellow companion on one of the most incredible journeys in human history: robotics.Thanks so much for tuning us in today.  March 20th, at 5:24 p.m. EDT) spring rolled in. It’s that time of year when the ground begins to thaw, birds return, and many vendors introduce their outdoor robots. Outdoors meaning robots for backyards, construction sites, farms, and major infrastructure projects most everywhere. In short, it’s springtime for robots.In honor of March, we’ll review some of these new spring robots for 2023. Renovate Robotics, Swap Robotics, Built Robotics, and GlüxKind.  Then, we’re off to Korea as Korea makes its $177 billion move at becoming a robotics kingpin: trying to be the third or fourth-largest producer of robots worldwide, as well as making a strong move on leadership in artificial intelligence. Big things are happening in Korea, and robotics will be a direct beneficiary of Korea’s remarkable plan for AI leadership, not only in East Asia and Asia…but the entire globe.  Articles in Asian Robotics Review: Major Growth Spurt Ahead for Korean Robotics 2023-2026 Korea could leapfrog competition through integration of robotics, AI/ML, and ICT Korea’s Plan for AI/ML Dominance...Brilliant! Korea looks to ramp up artificial intelligence and converge with recent successes in robotics (6x growth from 2009 to 2016). Can Korea pull it off?Our last two segments for this episode ask the question: What happened? Generative AI: Finally, America Gets a Real Wake-up CallIn 1983, the United States had 50-plus manufacturers of industrial robots. Today there are zero…as in none! Well, excepting for the recent one ABB in 2015 (Swiss/Swedish conglomerate) built in Michigan. Americans are left to "assembling" other peoples’ robots. Even though the U.S invented robots.   What if there's a supply-chain fiasco preventing shipments? Or worse, what if embargos from  US alliances make it impossible to import from Germany, Japan, Italy or China.? What has that mean’t for manufacturing in the U.S. today? Will America’s logistics go the same way as industrial robots.Between 2000 and 2010, the US lost one-third of its manufacturing jobs. The US remains the second-largest manufacturing country in the world, but its global dominance has been well and truly lost.What happened? And is this decline a harbinger of what Generative AI might do in the very near future? We’ll let you know what the leadership of DHL, a company that ships 5 billion packages annually, says about the situation.Finally, our last news report: Machine Tool Kingpins: Germany, Japan & China Machine tools keys to the future of global manufacturing. See also Asian Robotics Review news report and free downloadable PDF from Bismarck Analysis on machine tools.  The Importance of Machine Tools To Have and Have Not: Advanced Manufacturing's Most Important SkillHeartfelt Thanks for Making This Is Robotics the #1 Global Robotics News Podcast