Playstations are made by robots..
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PlayStation's secret weapon: a nearly all-automated factory
Robots carry on legacy of craftsmanship at little-known Kisarazu plant
TOKYO -- Sony's PlayStation has won hundreds of millions of fans across the world since its launch in 1994. But few know just how much of the console's success can be attributed to an unassuming factory located just across the bay from Tokyo. (Click here for a graphic-rich version of this article.)
On the outskirts of Kisarazu, a large, white building towers over an otherwise suburban landscape. Once inside, visitors are greeted by the whirring of motors as dozens of robots seamlessly churn out PlayStation 4 consoles.
Just a few humans were present to deal with a handful of tasks -- two to feed bare motherboards to the line, and two to package the finished consoles.
But the actual assembly is done entirely by articulated robots, supplied by Mitsubishi Electric. The 31.4-meter line, completed in 2018, has the ability to churn out a new console every 30 seconds.
The Kisarazu plant is operated by Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations, or SGMO, the group's manufacturing arm. The unit has worked with video game unit Sony Interactive Entertainment to bring cutting-edge technologies to the facility.
Pretty amazing. Playstations are a bit of a unique animal since the platform is kept stable for several years (making this sort of investment understandable).
Still pretty amazing and a glimpse of the future. Automation is close. Capital is going to do a "good enough" job vs. many types of unskilled labor.
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Good. Every time a robot takes over a human's job, it's a job no human should rightly be doing anyway. If the displaced humans need assistance finding something economically valuable that can't be automated, I suppose we can tax the goods the robots make.
Education is extremely important.
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@xenon said in Playstations are made by robots..:
Just a few humans were present to deal with a handful of tasks -- two to feed bare motherboards to the line, and two to package the finished consoles.
I wouldn't have guessed that those two things were the most difficult to automate for the whole process.
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We've done quite a bit of work with the companies that make robots to build and paint cars.
In the long run, we're all screwed, IMHO.
Every time a robot takes over a human's job, they're getting a little closer to being able to take over your job.
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Good. Every time a robot takes over a human's job, it's a job no human should rightly be doing anyway. If the displaced humans need assistance finding something economically valuable that can't be automated, I suppose we can tax the goods the robots make.
@Horace said in Playstations are made by robots..:
... I suppose we can tax the goods the robots make.
See Andrew Yang.
