The challenges are real and difficult

Manufacturing in Australia has seen better days, contend headlines in major newspapers as well as some of the country?s leading politicians. Yet, as Reuters? Jane Wardell wrote last August, ?Reports of the death of Australian manufacturing?battling a strong local currency, rising costs and cheap imports?are exaggerated.?

Manufacturing, her report continues, is ?going through a prolonged transition, from the big auto and white goods makers of the past into smaller niche and high-skilled manufacturers focused on supplying global markets.?

Roy Green, dean of business at the University of Technology in Sydney, agrees: “The future essentially belongs to a new class of micro-multinationals,? he says, ?SMEs that operate largely below the radar but which are proving very competitive and very resilient in global supply chains.”

The CSIRO solution and the role of robotics

Recently tasked with reviving the industry is Australia?s CSIRO or Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, which is the national government body for scientific research. CSIRO?s mission statement reads: ?We deliver great science and innovative solutions for industry, society and the environment.?

Robotics Business Review asked those on the frontlines at CSIRO?s Agile Manufacturing group how they will go about delivering ?great science and innovative solutions? to re-energize manufacturing…and what role robotics will play to help preserve “Australian Made”.

RBR: The global robotics community has long been familiar with Australia?s robotics R&D work in field robotics for agriculture and mining; and to some extent also familiar with UAS R&D.

Agile Manufacturing, especially robotics in Agile Manufacturing, however, seems a relatively new CSIRO endeavor. When did CSIRO?s Agile Manufacturing focus first come about and why?

CSIRO: Facing increasing operational costs, skills shortages and comparatively low productivity growth, combined with external factors such as increasing competition from low-wage countries, Australian manufacturers are in need of alternative solutions that give them the flexibility and agility to respond to a volatile demand, leading to an increase in productivity in the form of an affordable investment.

Industrial automation currently available is not flexible enough, designed for high volume, low variation processes and hence economically unviable for small and medium sized businesses (99% of industry).

Moreover, current technology is designed to improve productivity by replacing the work force, a strategy that is not considered suitable to the Australian SME sector, as one of their key competitive advantages is the innovation that is generated on the manufacturing line.

Recent advances in robotics and information and communications technologies (ICT) are leading towards the convergence of close collaboration between worker and robot. Advances in sensor technology are also enabling the ability to perceive the dynamic manufacturing environment, with this digital information stream providing a safer work environment with improved quality and productivity outcomes.

CSIRO, through its long term engagement with the mining sector, has developed a number of leading robotics solutions for unstructured, GPS denied, and dynamic environments. However, recent advances in mobile computing and high-speed internet, including the advent of big data and cloud computing, has created a market opportunity for smarter, faster technologies which utilise these platforms and assist manufacturing companies to operate with a greater degree of agility and flexibility.

In 2012, the FMF [Future Manufacturing Flagship] grew its investment in agile manufacturing technologies to assist companies to develop the agility and speed with which they can bring new products to market. This coincided with a strategic investment in other disruptive technologies including 3D printing as potential opportunities for Australian manufacturers as they look to respond to global market and its demand for customized, low volume high value products.

Further, CSIRO foresees the enhancement (rather than replacement) of manufacturing workers with assistive information technologies and robotics-based technologies as a profound enabler for Australian SME?s economic success by lifting workplace productivity and increase competitiveness.

RBR: Where, within CSIRO?s existing eleven divisions, does or will Agile Manufacturing fit?

CSIRO: CSIRO’s Agile Manufacturing theme will operate within the Future Manufacturing Flagship theme predominately utilized capabilities Earth Science and Resource Engineering; Computational Informatics; Materials Science & Engineering; Plant Industry; and Process Science and Engineering.

The impact to the market place will be delivered through CSIRO?s Future Manufacturing Flagship. At the heart of the Flagship?s mission is to help industry and businesses overcome manufacturing challenges with smarter, cleaner and more efficient technologies.

The Flagship partners with over 150 organizations in any one year and over the last three years has engaged in commercial dealings with over 350 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and multi-national corporations (MNCs) in Australia and overseas.

RBR: What is the mission of CSIRO Agile Manufacturing in the near term, say, over the next five years?

CSIRO: The Agile Manufacturing Theme strategy will focus on resilience and value adding of manufacturing to Australia by directly addressing the national challenge of industrial productivity through the improved transformation of:

• Labor (high performance workforce through effective collaboration and automation)
• Knowledge (material, processing and manufacturing informatics, analytics in a secure / trusted / private framework, visualization and modelling) and
• Resources (industrial ecology exploring uses of waste evolving to no waste manufacturing such as additive and continuous manufacturing).

The theme mantra will be ?invest?innovate?implement? and will enable the Agile Manufacturing theme to not only demonstrate the applicability of ICT enabled, and sustainable process technologies but also to improve firm productivity, safety and sustainability.

• Grow partnerships that integrate, validate and extend ICT enabled and sustainable process technologies as a mechanism of improving firm profitability, and
• Be recognized as a leader in the development and integration of leading-edge, ICT-enabled and sustainable process technologies that improve firm agility and competitiveness.

RBR: Long term, what are the goals of CSIRO?s Agile Manufacturing mission?

CSIRO: Recent advances in robotics and information and communications technologies (ICT) are leading towards the convergence of close collaboration between worker and robot. Advances in sensor technology are also enabling the ability to perceive the dynamic manufacturing environment, with this digital information stream providing a safer work environment with improved quality and productivity outcomes.

Through our research into the Australian manufacturing sector, we foresee the enhancement (rather than replacement) of manufacturing workers with assistive information technologies and robotics-based technologies as a profound enabler for Australian SME?s economic success.

We believe the advances in the field of ICT can be combined into in new category of Lightweight Assistive Manufacturing Solutions (LAMS), which will lift workplace productivity and increase competitiveness – creating new business opportunities for Australia which will need to be:

• Low-cost, from purchasing price and installation costs, to reprogramming and maintenance costs
• Easy to use, without the need of technical expertise to deploy, operate and reconfigure the systems
• Support mass customization, ideal for small runs of multiple types of products

RBR: In regard to robotics, what do you see as the role that CSIRO?s industrial/co-worker robot developments will bring to Agile Manufacturing?

CSIRO: Robotics, automation and ICT technologies are emerging as enablers for manufacturing businesses to adopt lightweight-assisted manufacturing as a source of competitive advantage against low-wage economies. These advances are creating opportunities to build solutions based on advanced intelligent automation and augmented reality, with potential applications in manufacturing?s everyday activities from design to assembly and quality control.

• Mobility across a dynamic and unstructured factory floor
• Autonomous (or semi-autonomous) operation in uncertain or unstructured environments
• Ability to manipulate and interact with a changing external environment
• Capable of achieving desired outcomes without the need of a fully pre-programmed script
• Ability to safely perform tasks in close operation with humans
• Ability to augment the reality or the physical capabilities of a human user

RBR: Ongoing, do you see CSIRO?s role more as an advisor and consultant to industry on how best to implement Agile Manufacturing or as a ?concept-to-prototype? developer of industrial and co-worker robots?

CSIRO: Our role as a trusted advisor to industry and Government is as important as the capability we develop to assist businesses to remain competitive. We will continue to play both roles with a firm focus on developing systems and solutions which meet the needs of industry.

CSIRO will Invest in the development of new technologies, Innovate with the market to validate the technology and reduce technical risk and will then Implement with technology partners to deploy the technical solutions into the market.

To achieve this, CSIRO?s roles will migrate throughout the life cycle of the technology from that of advisor/consultant to a deployment partner.

RBR: Over time, is it CSIRO?s intention to foster the development of an indigenous robot manufacturing capability within Australia or will CSIRO rely on robots supplied from overseas manufacturers and adapt them, as necessary, to CSIRO?s Agile Manufacturing mission?

CSIRO: It is envisaged that the technological advances to be developed through the CSIRO Agile Manufacturing theme, together with manufacturing emerging trends, will create a fertile environment for an assistive robotics and systems industry.

There is evidence that the arrival of new robotic prototypes into markets drives technological revolution, and indicators are highlighting that manufacturers in Asia will be a major cause of this.

Australia possess a set of research and industrial capabilities to maintain a competitive edge in an already-forming industry around assistive and service robotics for industrial settings.

CSIRO also has the potential to build the foundations of an industry based on standardization and open software/ hardware platforms, following a similar trajectory to the early stages of the personal computer industry.

This supposes substantial business opportunities for research institutes and organizations already working with open source robotic software, such as Robot Operating System (ROS), standard grippers for next-gen robots, and even investigating on emerging approaches in the field (such as apps for robots and cloud robotics).

However, to be successful in developing this industry, innovation at a firm?s scale should involve not just creation of value through technological innovation, but also a mechanism of value appropriation through business model innovation.

By adopting agile assistive manufacturing solutions, manufacturers will have the opportunity to increase productivity levels, improve quality of their offerings, respond better and faster to demand, and create safe high-performance production environments; but in order to create a sustainable competitive advantages, they also need the ability to make adaptations to their business models when markets conditions requires to do so.

In light of this, a practical question is: how lightweight assistive systems can help manufacturers innovate in their business models and CSIRO will developed a model framework for value creation from this investment that addresses:

• Customer segments: Allow agility and flexibility in meeting not only customers? demands in current segments but also provide an avenue to address new market.
• Value proposition: manufacturers can structure their value propositions around performance improvement, customization and superior design, as they can develop more elaborated products and services through experimentation, simulation and rapid prototyping, as well as conceptualize and fabricate entirely new products.
• Distribution channels: Virtualization and digitization of supply lines through interconnected ICT systems on each section of the supply chain will allow a strategic planning of product/service distribution for efficient and timely delivery.
• Customer relationships: Manufacturers could explore new methods to provide customer relationships, particularly in building long-lasting connections with clients through co-creation. These technologies will bring the possibility to not just include client feedback, but letting them to be participants in the elaboration of their products. Linking production processes with social media platforms will be an additional channel for manufacturer-client relations.
• Revenue stream: Using digital technologies to provide customers with additional information of their products would lead to a profit generation from additional sources, as extra value is added to a product. Manufacturers could charge for a service in which the client uploads a personalized design directly into the production system; then, clients could receive updates of the process.
• Key resources: For labor intensive sectors, Agile Technologies will improve working conditions, reducing injuries and contributing in maintaining a well-trained and skilled workforce. For capital-intensive sectors, telerobotics for micro-assembly, for instance, could become a valuable addition to an electronics manufacturer?s capital resources. From a holistic viewpoint, digital access to equipment, material and workforce tasks through plant virtualization increase efficiency firm?s resource management.
• Key partnerships: From a local perspective, ICT solutions will change the way companies and suppliers cooperate together; new strategic alliances may arise as a response to foreign competitors entering local markets. From a global view, augmentation systems would maximize Australians ability to innovate in design and product engineering, creating a new space within global supply chains.
• Cost structure: Using technologies enabling production processes in which the cost per unit remains the same regardless on the volume produced may influence economies of scope.
  Furthermore, following a value-driven approach rather than a cost-driven will benefit Australian manufacturers when competing against low-wage economies. In addition, it is envisioned that agile technologies purchasing price will need to guarantee a ROI between 1-3 years for an average manufacturing SME; once the system is operative, improvements in quality and product design, as well as reduction of time-to-market, will no longer represents additional operational costs, which will increase profit margins.











RBR: Could you describe what robots specifically for Agile Manufacturing you may have in development at present and what your future plans are for such robots?






CSIRO:Lightweight Assistive Manufacturing Solutions will deliver value to the SME manufacturing sector in different ways, and will be strongly dependent on the nature of the solution and the form in which is utilized by users.

INFORGRAPHIC (above) articulates three solution scenarios that lightweight assistive manufacturing is envisaged to benefit a typical SME.




• Worker Augmentation Systems – Making work easier for humans:

Providing virtual augmentation to the worker during a production, assembly or quality phase by enhancing their ability to do their job (e.g. virtual/augmented reality systems, wearable machine vision, exoskeletons, etc.), is ideal for firms who want to increase productivity by augmenting workforce capabilities, such as skills, perception, strength and data-processing capacity, to make them capable of fabricating high-quality products in a faster and more efficient manner, regardless of their age or physical conditions.

This is also ideal solution to retain experienced elder workers as well as maintaining a skilled labor force capable of dealing with new product fabrication and incorporating changes rapidly and with few errors.




• Robotic Co-workers – Working with Humans:

Robots capable of collaborating with and assisting humans on manufacturing task such in the form of mobile assistants, semi-autonomous manipulators and robot helpers, are intended to be used by firms seeking to introduce a degree of automation to their short-run manufacturing processes.

The objective is to increase productivity, but by affording the appropriate degree of agility to responding to demand.

Currently available industrial automation is not flexible or readily adaptable to cope with constant changes in manufacturing volumes and product specifications.
The solution is based on utilizing collaborative robots that provide their human partner with strength, speed and precision but are directly controlled by the human and take advantage of their flexibility, creativity and reasoning.




• Tele-supervised Robotics – Working for Humans:

Automation that extends the reach of the workforce is ideally suited to firms that deal with challenging manufacturing or production conditions as a result of hazardous operational environments or distance/time constraints.

This solution exploits the benefits of the above technologies and by placing the worker safely away from the operational manufacturing function to now supervise the manufacturing process. This also provides scalability across a number of work cells and across a number of sites.

Furthermore, this unique solution provides a new option to increase labor productivity and operational efficiency.



RBR: In view of the ongoing contraction in Australian manufacturing (6.5% of GDP; Ford leaving in 2016; decline in productivity; rising labor costs; strong AUD, etc.), do you see Agile Manufacturing as a viable solution to mitigate or revitalize manufacturing. If so, how; and what is a realistic timeline for this turnaround process to see measurable success, as in impacting the GDP?)



CSIRO: As such, the long term mission is to directly support Australian manufacturers in addressing international market opportunities and in growing revenues from domestic markets, but are also expected to have wider impact for Australia?s workforce, economy and future manufacturing outlook. Specifically:


Impact on Australian workforce:

• More and better jobs: Lightweight assistive systems will facilitate human?s work in factories, resulting in jobs with more high-value tasks and less repetitive and physically demanding activities such as weight lifting and tool picking. Indirectly, an increase in the manufacturing industry?s productivity and competitiveness will result in firm expansion, which will create more employment for Australians.
• Safer workplaces: Proactively address safety issues in factory floors by allowing operation in hazardous environments and safely execution of physically stressful activities.
• Workforce skilling: Remote training systems facilitate continuous on-the job training for workers, and enable absorption of new apprentices into the industry. Additionally, an industrial environment that promotes training and up-skilling while makes use of the latest technologies available will have a motivational impact on skilled recruits to enter the manufacturing workforce.

Impact on Australian manufacturing firms:

• More profitable businesses: Based on the concept of using robotic co-workers so that the human spends more time adding real ?value? to the product in a shorter timeframe, will allow to capture more revenues by covering market needs faster and better than others.
• Access to international markets: Australian firms should indentify a suitable position within globalized supply chains where they can exploit and use their competitive advantages; flow on will be the creation of core competencies around quality control and assurance, innovative design and product personalization.
• Maximize global competitiveness: To remain competitive, Australian manufacturers need to develop niche, high-value-added products/services that compete on value rather than on cost.
• Rapid re-configurability to support product variety, system scalability and solutions which capture market demands in a timely fashion.

Impact on Australian economy:

• Industry?s sustainable growth: we seek to equip SMEs with fit-for-purpose technology and prepare them for future challenges in a highly dynamic globalized industry; reshoring manufacturing activities back to Australia as it will be cost-efficient to produce certain parts domestically; and bringing cohesion and interconnectedness to the industry through the use of ICT solutions on top of complementary infrastructure such as the National Broadband Network
• Supporting other industries: Due to multiplier interrelations with the services and mining sectors, any economic benefit that lightweight assistive systems produce in manufacturing will be propagated in other sectors of the Australian economy.
• Competitive position in future robotics industry: The Agile Manufacturing initiative will lay the foundations for Australia to capitalize and capture revenues from an emerging industry in the foreseeable future, through the formation of research and industrial capabilities around assistive and service robotics for industrial settings.

See related article: Towards Simpler Robotic Systems: Exploring the next generation of robots in Australia
By Dr. Michael Bruenig, Deputy Chief of CSIRO’s Computational Informatics Division

See related article: THE CONVERSATION: Beyond R2-D2: Australian manufacturing?s robotics wish-list, 20 October 2013