In earlier days, this was the nation’s watercress king. Then Huntsville became the Rocket City. On Monday, Gov. Bob Riley announced that the Huntsville-Decatur metropolitan area will soon be “the robotics capital of the world.”
Allowing for hyperbole, Riley appears to be on target. A 53-acre site on U.S. 31 across from Calhoun Community College, which will oversee the project with help from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, will eventually become a $71 million robotics education and training center like none other.
It will train some 450 students a year in state-of-the-art robotics. It will become a NASA and U.S. Army Missile Command research and development center. It will also serve as an R&D facility for companies to build and adapt commercial robots.
And it may do something else good for this region’s economy that goes beyond its stated mission: It may help lure a massive Volkswagen assembly plant that would further boost growth and prosperity.
State officials are understandably cagey about the latter possibility. Legislators from the area, commenting on the robotics center that Calhoun won over competing state community colleges, sounded more than cautiously optimistic but less than certain that this might be a key part of a package that will convince Volkswagen officials to call Huntsville home.
 Visitors look at REEM-B, the new humanoid robot unveiled by Pal Technology Robotics, at its launch in Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, June 11, 2008. The 1.47-meter tall robot, which is able to walk dynamically, grasp objects, navigate within buildings, accept voice commands and recognize faces, is one of the most advanced in the world, manufacturers said. Developed by Pal Technology Robotics, REEM-B supercedes the older REEM-A robot, which was launched last year. |
 Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan hands a gift to the new humanoid robot REEM-B |
 Visitors touch the new humanoid robot REEM-B |
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news.xinhuanet.com
University of Massachusetts Lowell professor Holly Yanco will split her share of the money with seven other research teams, including one fromMIT and one from Yale University.
According to the university?s Web site, Yanco founded the school?s Robotics Lab seven years ago. Her Microsoft-backed project will use tabletop multitouch displays to create an interface for emergency personnel to interact and monitor with robots deployed during the response to a disaster, officials say.
Part of the impetus behind Yanco?s project was the federal government?s slow response to help individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. At that time, emergency responders used hand-drawn paper maps to search for survivors, and robotic cameras were used, but were limited to sending video only to operators at the site, and not immediately to command staff. Yanco has said her research project is designed to find out how to remedy that shortcoming.
Members of the Winchester Robotics Team, now in its third year at the high school, have developed the first fully autonomous robot in BotsIQ history.
BotsIQ, an organization which promotes education in technology and engineering by hosting robotic competitions, planned to add an autonomous event this year to the regular bill of events which includes battles between 15-pound robots and 120-pound robots. However, when President Nola Garcia decided to hold off for another year, the Winchester team went ahead with the project anyway.
?When most people think of robots, they think of C-3PO, something that thinks, talks, and walks for itself,? said team president Alex Burka, who is also spearheading the autonomous project. ?The fighting robots are really cool but we wanted to challenge ourselves with something different.?
In preparation for the National BotsIQ Competition in late April, Winchester high school students took the initiative in proposing an autonomous competition for BotsIQ, complete with rules and a course.
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Another robotics “battle” in Hawaii… it so cool… :D. Here the news from kgmb9.com:
Dozens of teams are getting ready for a battle of the brains at the Stan Sheriff Center. They spent the day practicing for the regional robotics competition.
The event includes 700 students from 37 high schools throughout Hawaii and the mainland. They had six weeks to design and build their robots.
The machines score points in different ways; like knocking balls off the overpass, throwing them over the rack, or picking them up and putting them back in place. (more…)
Become participant of robotics contest or robotics competition is fun. You will get many experience, meet many people who interest in robotics technology. Sometimes, you will get some money.. 
Today, i read a news from freep.com about FIRST Robotics Competition result in detroit city. I was happy that many students interested in robotics technology.
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Three Detroit Cody High School students were part of a winning team last weekend at Wayne State University.
A three-team alliance — Cody, Utica Community Schools and Bloomfield Hills International Academy — won the FIRST Robotics Detroit regional. (more…)
Because it won last year?s national championship, Cimarron-Memorial High School?s robotics team gets a guaranteed berth in this year?s competition.
But that doesn?t mean the 25-member team isn?t ready to rumble at next week?s regional contest at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Established in 1989 by NASA and a coalition of public agencies and private-sector businesses, the FIRST Robotics Competition draws 20,000 students from 38 countries annually. This year, about 45 teams ? including 14 from local high schools ? are set to compete.
Each team is provided with the same parts and electronics and given six weeks to build a robot that will complete a specific task. Once teams arrive at the competition they are grouped into ?alliances,? each with three schools. The alliances then compete against one another.
As part of this year?s ?Overdrive? theme, the robots must race around a track and be able to move giant inflated balls around a 6-foot-6-inch overpass. Cimarron-Memorial?s entry, nicknamed ?Pit Boss II,? is a successor to last year?s winning entry. Teacher John Berry, the team?s mentor, said the name is an homage to Las Vegas? casino roots and to the nickname for the staging area at competitions where students make last-minute adjustments to their robots. (more…)
MANASSAS, VA.- Employees from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) recently mentored more than 1,000 students from Prince William County and surrounding area schools during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition and Tech Challenge events.
The FIRST program is designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and technology. FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge teams include engineers and other professionals from some of the world?s most respected companies. Students work closely with and learn from these mentors in engineering and technology fields.
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In a short article, New Scientist reports that researchers at Virginia Tech University have developed a tripedal experimental robot. With its three legs, this robot, named STriDER — short for ‘Self-excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot’ — is actually more stable than 2- or 4-legged robots. As said another researcher, ‘It’s like a biped with a walking stick.’ This robot is intended to deploy sensors and cameras in difficult-to-access areas.
STriDER has been developed under the supervision of Dennis Hong, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech and director of the Robotics and mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa). You can see above the various components of this robot. (Credit: Virginia Tech University) (more…)
TOKYO — At a university lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust.
Hooked up to a database of words clustered by association, the robot _ dubbed Kansei, or “sensibility” _ responds to the word “war” by quivering in what looks like disgust and fear. It hears “love,” and its pink lips smile.
“To live among people, robots need to handle complex social tasks,” said project leader Junichi Takeno of Meiji University. “Robots will need to work with emotions, to understand and eventually feel them.
While robots are a long way from matching human emotional complexity, the country is perhaps the closest to a future _ once the stuff of science fiction _ where humans and intelligent robots routinely live side by side and interact socially.
Robots are already taken for granted in Japanese factories, so much so that they are sometimes welcomed on their first day at work with Shinto religious ceremonies. Robots make sushi. Robots plant rice and tend paddies. (more…)
TRENTON — Local teams performed strongly at this year’s New Jersey Regional FIRST Robotics Competition at Sovereign Bank Arena, with Trenton Central High School taking top tournament honors and Robbinsville High School’s rookie team coming in second yesterday. Each team’s win was shared with fellow alliance members, teams they cooperated with during the tournament. Trenton Central shared its Regional Competition championship with allies North Brunswick Township High School and Palisades High School of Kintnerville, Pa. Robbinsville High shared its Regional Finalist Award with Mount Olive High School and Aberdeen High School of Aberdeen, Md.
Robbinsville High also took home the Rookie All-Star and Highest Rookie Seed awards.
“We are just very thrilled,” Joy Wolfe, faculty adviser for the Robbinsville team, said. “We’re still finding out what these students can do as a team, and this was very unexpected. They were so excited.” (more…)
Another winter snowstorm struck New Hampshire Saturday, but that couldn’t stop thousands of students from competing in the finals of the sixth annual Granite State Regional FIRST Robotics competition held at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.
The event brings students and their mentors together in a two-day competition that emphasizes teamwork, innovation and strategy. Forty-eight high school teams from across New England participated in this year’s Granite State Regional, which was sponsored by BAE Systems.
The following local teams received awards:
? -Team 1058 from Londonderry High School was selected as the winner of this year’s Motorola Quality Award, celebrating machine robustness in concept and fabrication. (more…)
Andrew Chudzik has spent some time building a bumper on his team?s robot.
Covered with white cloth and built with swimming pool tubes, the bumper is a needed accessory for protection against other elements.
?The bumper is in case a smaller robot is in the way or it hits the wall,? the City High freshman said.
Chudzik is a member of the Iowa City Robotics team that is aiming to build the best robot in a regional and national contest this spring. Comprised of students from City High and West High, the team is entering a robot to compete in a series of skill challenges at a regional competition in Milwaukee March 13 to 15 with hopes of competing in the national contest at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta April 17 to 19.
The contests are sponsored by USFIRST, or the Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, a program designed to encourage high school students to explore engineering careers, according to Dominic Audia, a technology teacher at City High and West High. Sponsored locally by the University of Iowa engineering department and Rockwell Collins, the group has grown to 22 members this year, Audia said.
?We?ve doubled the amount of kids doing it every year,? he said. ?We try to get the kids to contribute as much as they can.?
The competition has a series of rules each of the 40 high school teams competing in Milwaukee must follow. To score points, the robot must either pick up a 40-inch, 10-pound ball and place it on a six-foot high pedestal, take a lap on a track, or shoot a ball over a balcony. (more…)
High school students from east central
“We are here just, you know, comparing the robotics to other robotics. You know, try to get as much done, fine tuning as possible,” Greigh Davis, president of team 829, said. ?You know, do well, and hopefully we will win.”
Students designed robotics by themselves in their workshops. They decided what they wanted to do, and their mentors helped them bring their projects to reality and assisted fixing technical problems. (more…)
Inspired by the excitement of last year?s event, Bishop-Wisecarver, the manufacturer of the original DualVee guide wheel, has returned as a sponsor of the 2008 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC).
Since 1989, FIRST has brought the excitement of a sporting event to science and technology via robotics competitions. At the January 5 kickoff, more than 1,500 teams, each consisting of 10 to 20 high school students and a few engineer mentors, received a common kit of parts.
Using this kit?which included Bishop-Wisecarver?s MCS aluminum profile?and working with mentors, teams have six weeks to design and build their robots to meet the season?s engineering challenge, ?FIRST Overdrive.?
According to FIRST, 41 regional competitions will lead up to the FRC Championship scheduled to be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta April 17-19.
?We are very proud to be a ?Silver Supplier? of this fine group and participate in this year?s game,? says Pamela Kan, president of Bishop-Wisecarver. ?Our involvement gives us the opportunity to promote innovation and encourage and engage the engineers and thinkers of the future.?
Bishop-Wisecarver?s continued support of FRC is part of a long tradition. Nearly 40 years ago, Kan?s father, and Bishop-Wisecarver founder, Bud Wisecarver began a life-long commitment to youth programs related to education, engineering, manufacturing and science. (more…)
(Nanowerk News) We are now living in an era of global competition, which is based on scientific and technological strength. Growth of a country is driven by technological renewal and creativity. To follow this situation, Vietnam?s science and technology service should make complete changes.
Global tendencies
According to top the World Bank?s scientific and educational experts, investment and development orientation for global science and technology in the 21st century will concentrate in the English abbreviation ?GRIN?, in which G stands for Genomics; R, Robotics; I, Information Technology and Communication; and N, Nanotechnology.
In fact, over the last ten years, IT, biotechnology, and new material technology have become priorities in the development of Vietnam?s science and technology.
In addition, changes have been seen in the content and access method in these above mentioned fields.
Nanotechnology has become a huge field, which covers such sciences as physics, chemistry, information technology, telecommunication, and biotechnology. The technology has reached the highest level as the science of the era, having created comparative advantage for many countries.
To catch up with the development of global science and technology, Vietnam should have proper investment plans, prepared for ideas and combining scientists and experts with programmes which have completely new contents, and establishing training and research centres. Apart from traditional laboratories, two National Universities have begun to do this way. (more…)
Adept Technology, Inc , the leading provider of intelligent vision-guided robotics and global robotics services, today announced it will host its Adept Global Conference 2008 event at its corporate offices in Livermore, CA April 2-4, 2008. The automation conference will feature industry leaders, real-world case studies, live automation demonstrations and a chance to network with automation leaders. Speakers will include representatives from such manufacturers and industry experts as Great Lakes Cheese, Evergreen Solar, Pepperidge Farm, Covidien, Robotics Industry Association and Medical Design magazine.”We are very excited to be hosting this event which will give attendees the opportunity to learn about the latest trends and opportunities in robotics, meet with manufacturers and solution providers alike and view live demonstrations,” said John Dulchinos, president and chief operating officer for Adept Technology, Inc. “It will also be an excellent forum to connect with peers and some of the top U.S. manufacturers.” (more…)
Six months after being introduced to robotics, the kids at Public School 21 in Bedford-Stuyvesant have scored big.
They were named the top team in Brooklyn during the FIRST LEGO League robotics competition at Brooklyn Tech last month.
FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology - is a group that creates innovative ways to get youngsters interested in science, technology and engineering. And the LEGO company creates and markets the popular multicolored interlocking plastic bricks, and other toys.
“It’s unusual to win a top award the first time out,” said Norman Scott, a retired teacher who serves as contest liaison.
On Jan. 26, the PS 21 kids won a Team Spirit Award during the New York City FIRST LEGO League Championship, a citywide competition held at Riverbank State Park in Manhattan.
Teams from St. Clare Elementary School on Staten Island landed the competition’s top honors, the Champion’s Award. The school’s Transformers 2 Team will represent New York City at an international competition in Atlanta. (more…)
Atlanta ? The College of Computing at Georgia Tech today announced the nation?s first interdisciplinary doctoral degree in robotics, to be offered at Georgia Tech. The program, which starts fall semester of 2008, was developed through Georgia Tech?s new Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (RIM@Georgia Tech), a collaborative research center that combines the educational strength and expertise of the Colleges of Computing and Engineering at Georgia Tech. Reaching across disciplines and drawing from curricula in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, aerospace, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, the doctoral degree is designed to educate a new breed of multidisciplinary researchers who will enter the market best prepared to chart a new course for robotics in the United States.
?We are pleased to offer the first truly interdisciplinary robotics Ph.D. program in the country,? said Dr. Henrik Christensen, KUKA Chair of Robotics for the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. ?Exposing our students to course work from multiple disciplines early on prepares them to think about robotics from a holistic approach once they enter the workforce. True to our mission in robotics at Georgia Tech, our program will recruit and educate outstanding students who will provide leadership in a world that is increasingly dependent on technology.? (more…)
Dynamic Network Services Incorporated, a world leader in domain, DNS and email technologies, today announced its active participation in the seventeenth edition of the FIRST Robotics Competition. The competition started on January 5 and is set to last six weeks, during which over 1,500 teams from around the world will call upon all their scientific and analytical skills to solve a fresh technical challenge, dubbed “Overdrive.”
Staff at Dynamic Network Services will be monitoring students as they build their robots and put their talent into action. Every year, the company heavily invests in the event, which encourages the bright minds of tomorrow to invest in engineering and scientific careers, paving the road for personal achievement and helping the industry move forwards.
“By helping students build their robots, we help them build their future” said Tom Daly, president, highlighting the close relationship the competition entertains with real-world situations and technology.
“We’re all students at heart,” added Jeremy Hitchcock, CEO and CFO, pointing out that “the game helps our staff keep their analytical skills sharp and flexible.” (more…)
The ?ROBAUCO: mobile, autonomous and collaborative robots? project was recently initiated.* The principal objective of the project is the generation of the technologies necessary for the development of mobile robots able to carry out complex tasks with a high degree of autonomy and capacity for collaboration. These robots, moreover, have to share tasks with people in the most friendly and natural way possible.
The technological areas in which solutions are to be developed are:
- The perception of the robots. Using sensors and sensorial systems which, with a holistic approach, are capable of recognising the complex environment (given that the idea is for exterior applications, over unknown terrain and changing situations).
- Communications. Between the robots themselves and with humans, in such a way that mutual collaboration leads to success in the targets set.
- Person-robot interaction Here the idea is that the robot is not limited to just obeying control orders that are formulated electronically, but they are also enabled to interact with their human collaborators and in the most natural manner, including with voice and, above all, with gestures which, for tasks in the exterior and in extreme conditions, may be the most reliable channel of communication.
- Autonomous behaviour. In this case the idea is to resolve complex problems of navigation on surfaces and in spaces that are difficult and equip the robots with self-perception in such a way that they are aware of their state, can undertake self-diagnosis and adopt measures in case of breakdown or limitations to their capacities.
- Mecatronic components. The problem to be tackled in principle is the movement through and overcoming of obstacles in all media, terrestrial, aquatic and aerial.
It is hoped to materialise all these developments in a terrestrial robot prototype which, in all probability, will be a test bank for solutions to emergency situations such as forest fires, rescues, etc. In order to know the peculiarities and skills these tasks require and thereby to orientate the prototype accordingly, contacts have been made with SOS Deia (the Basque Emergency Rescue Service) and it also expected to know other viewpoints from other autonomous emergency services. (more…)
MANHASSET, N.Y. ? Segway inventor Dean Kamen is looking to tap the next generation of students to help develop the “next big thing.”
Kamen is organizing his 17th annual First (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition that will culminate at the 2008 First Championship April 17-19 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
The competition is geared to help high schoolers age discover the rewards of science, engineering and technology. Over 37,500 high school students on more than 1,500 teams from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the U.K. and every state in the U.S. are participating in this year’s competition.
Earlier this month, teams were for the first time shown this year’s challenge and received a common kit that includes motors, batteries, a control system and a mix of automation components. Students receive no instructions, but work with mentors to design, build and test their robots over six weeks. The teams then participate in regional competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and students’ determination.
“We celebrate sports and entertainment people as hero figures,” said Leo Meire, facilities engineer at chip maker Qimonda and a mentor of Team 384 Robotics at J.R. Tucker High School (Richmond, Va.). “We want to attract future engineers by modeling the competition as a sports event, but for technical knowledge.” Qimonda will provide monetary support, use of a machine shop and necessary parts to the high school team. (more…)
When Dr. Andrew Williams began teaching at Spelman College three years ago, he had a hunch that science and engineering students at the all-female and private historically Black college would flock to the study of robotics not unlike the science and engineering students who gravitate to the growing field at the top research institutions. Not only did Williams guess right, it turns out that his teaching and research efforts in the subject would help spark a robotics education movement that now extends from the Atlanta-based women?s college to several historically Black colleges and universities.
Helping out in the effort are scientists from major research universities, such as Dr. David Touretzky, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Williams and Touretzky are the principal investigator and co-principal investigator, respectively, of the Advancing Robotics Technology for Societal Impact (ARTSI) Alliance project. With support from a three-year, $2 million grant by the National Science Foundation announced this past fall, ARTSI will help fund a second wave of robotics education at eight historically Black schools and stimulate outreach efforts at the K-12 level. (more…)
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From effortlessly lifting your car that weighs over 1,000 kg to painting it, inspecting it and even sending a text message in case of an emergency - you name the task and they will perform it with ease. In case you haven?t guessed it yet - it robots - and some of them, claiming to be driven by the latest technology are on show at the auto expo.
Given their utility, there are 11 companies including ABB, Panasonic, Kuka, Precision Automation & Robotics India (PARI), Motoman Motherson Robotics, Hi-Tech Robotics Systemz, Fanuc and Rockwell who are at the expo, eyeing the Indian market where companies are increasingly focusing on automation. Of these 11 exhibitors, five are Indians, which shows that despite being a late entrant, the country has finally stepped into the world of robotics and automation.
The application of robotics, artificial intelligence technologies in India is quite new. Initially, companies were apprehensive to use robots in manufacturing or any other industry. But, now, as India is becoming manufacturing hub for companies all around the world, domestic players are realising the advantage of robotics and automation. At present, the growth in India is much faster than in Japan or other Asian countries, says Milind Adkar of PARI. The Pune-based company is displaying its ‘Golfing Robot’, which, it says, can play golf with 97% accuracy.
According to industry estimates, 2008 onwards, the world market for industrial robots is expected to grow 4.2% a year rising to 139,300 units in 2010. “In India, the industry is expected to grow by at least twice the global average,” says Rajive Kaul of CII.
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Over 37,500 High-school Students to Compete in 41 Regional Events MANCHESTER, N.H.–(Business Wire)–FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) launched its seventeenth FIRST Robotics Competition season today with a Kickoff at outhern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH, hometown and headquarters of FIRST. The FIRST Robotics Competition is an annual competition that helps students discover the rewards and excitement of science, engineering, and technology. Over 37,500 high-school students on more than 1,500 teams from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the U.K., and every state in the U.S. are participating in this year’s competition.
At the Kickoff, all teams were shown this year’s game field for the first time and received a common kit of parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, and a mix of automation components - but no instructions. Working with mentors, students now have just six weeks to design, build, and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. Once these young inventors create the robot, their teams participate in regional competitions that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students. (more…)
LAS VEGAS ? Looks like it’s time for WowWee to graduate from making robotic toys to making full-fledged consumer robotics. The maker of Robosapien and Roboraptor dipped its toe in the water last year with the release of Robopanda, its first remote-control-less robot. However, with its 2008 lineup, the company is setting its sights on becoming a home-robotics leader.
The company reports that its US product lineup will feature some 15 products, and three new ones are worth noting.
Two years ago at CES 2006, WowWee demonstrated its new two-wheeled P.E.A. (Personality Evolved Robot), the first product of a partnership between WowWee and Segway. Just like Dean Kamen’s Segway human transporter, the roughly 1-foot-tall black and white robot balanced on two wheels. It had two long arms and a screen for a face. Two years later, P.E.A. has returned as “Mr. Personality.” Gone is the two-wheeled balancing act. Instead, this red and silver home-entertainment robot gets around on three wheels set at roughly right angles to each other. What remains is the color LCD face and the robot’s sense of humor. (more…)
PALMER - Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School had great success in its first robotics competition last spring and during this academic year the school will not only compete but also host the Massachusetts regional tournament.
It means a lot of work for electronics technology teacher Eric A. Duda, but he is up for it.
“The educational value of this is great,” Duda said.
He is not only teaching and guiding the students in this program, he is watching them do work at a level that he was involved with as an electrical engineering student at Western New England College.
“It’s amazing,” Duda said. “They design something. They build it. They test it. They record all of their results.”
School teams all over the world compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge Championship by building a robot that meets required specifications and can perform a designated task.
The 2008 contest calls for a robot that can pick up rings that are 3 inches in diameter and put as many of them as possible on a pole while racing the clock.
While Duda’s students find it fun and exciting, their work also fits into the state’s curriculum frameworks for electronics technology.
“It takes a lot of math skills and a real scientific approach. They do a lot of computer programming,” Duda said. “This covers a real wide range and ties everything together.”
“They are doing a great job,” he said. (more…)
AFC Stamping and Production, Inc. produces finished components used in power sports and automotive applications, and automotive stampings that have welded components.
The Dayton, Ohio, company was established in 1989, and employs 100 people. It is a subsidiary of FC Industries, whose family of companies includes Barsplice Products Inc., AFC Tool Inc., Dayton Precision Punch and FC International.
AFC Stamping and Production is housed in an 115,000-square-foot facility that accommodates nine production lines, including a CNC bender, end finish equipment, resistance welding, and fully equipped press and manual welding departments.
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Jon Lambert, engineering manager for AFC Stamping and Production, Inc., is responsible for capital expenditure, continuous improvement, plant layout and process and tooling concepts, and supports the company?s lean manufacturing initiatives and internal and external customer requirements.Before adding a robot to the workforce, the product mix was produced by an outside contractor. Prior to outsourcing, the assemblies were welded manually, creating several disadvantages, including cost, lack of manpower, operator control of quality and poor product flows. (more…)