An auto-sci fi in the making?

Far from it. Cutting to the chase, automaker Ford last week decided to use ‘exoskeletons’ — popularly known as the Iron Man technology — at 15 factories. The company has been testing these devices for a while now. The move marks a new era in manufacturing of any kind, drawing comparisons (a tad exaggerated, though) to how the US company introduced assembly line mass production in the 1950s.

What exactly is an exoskeleton?

Exoskeletons are enhancements that workers wear to augment their skills and, as a result, reduce the strain of factory work. Basically, it is a wearable device (or suit like the one Iron Man wears) with a series of motors, levers and similar tools that offer those who wear it super-human capabilities.

Such as?

Well, don’t let your imagination fly high. What’s in store here are basic skills but with more efficiency. Take Ford’s example. The company’s workers would be using EksoVests, a wearable, robotic suit made by California-based Ekso Bionics. This extension gives its users an extra force per arm — 2-7 kg — when they lift heavy goods in the factory.

Impressive. But do they need that help?

More than we think they do. Ford believes this would help its assembly line employees a lot, especially considering that they have to reach up to the undersides of the vehicles they assemble. Ford estimates that on an average workers at a Ford factory perform overhead work (such as fitting items or removing things) 4,600 times a day and about a million times a year. So you can imagine how an exoskeleton that helps workers hold their hands up and steady could help avoid accidents and increase productivity.

Indeed. So when do these devices go mainstream?

Several companies are now experimenting with such tools, which are already popular in sectors such as military and medicine. Just last year, Ford tried a few exoskeletons at two factories in Michigan. As you can guess, several organisations and policy-makers are watching the outcome of Ford’s exoskeletons. A positive impact will give a fillip to the plans for mass production of such wearables.

That’s progress. So are there more players in this area?

Companies such as Panasonic, Honda and Cyberdyne have been actively promoting this technology now. The idea of exoskeletons have been around for a while now; since the 1960s to be precise. But their use was mostly restricted in the military sector. The industry started taking shape in the 1980s with the US military funding research and development for such suits. But these lacked finesse and easiness of use.

But the recent growth in mobile computing, chips, batteries and sensors boosted the sector like never before. Companies such as Hyundai, Airbus, Audi, Siemens and Lowe’s are also developing and trying such solutions.

But wait, are these device cost-effective?

As things stand now, they are extremely expensive. But once the economies of scale kicks in, companies expect the prices to fall, enabling wider adoption of the technology, which many labour experts call the future of work. Such devices also help companies save a lot of money in terms of worker productivity and compensation. A study shows more than 4,500 workers die every year in US factories. The country sees some three million work-related accidents and illnesses, forcing the companies to spend more than $120 billion every year on insurance and compensation.

Oh, that’s a big bill to boot!

Indeed. So, considering such savings, investing in technologies such as exoskeletons that help augment human skills with robotics means business for companies such as Ford, which has a huge workforce to maintain.

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