ddle managers fears that robot installations would be too troublesome and economically unjustifiable. Firms would not recognize the need to automate unless their competition did.They were not even getting any good publicity from their successful installations, since General Motors was down playing everything because it feared labor opposition.Something had to be done, and soon before the company was forced to fold. Engelberger commissioned a consulting firm to determine a way to promote the UNIMATE. The solution was actually quite simple; it was a matter of economics. The robot was priced to high; it was cheaper to hire more employees than it was to automate. When the price was reduced, sales jumped six fold. Which puts the right spin on industrial robots. Nobody puts robots to work because they want to make life easier for the employee. They put it to work for economic savings.The real explosion of industrial robots came because of Japan. The institutional barriers that existed in the States did not matter in Japan. The Japanese were implementers; they went ahead and used technology. Back in the states industrial robots continued to gain in popularity in the manufacturing process, but it was a slow ride. Then the industry started to change; the automotive industry was feeling the pressure of Japanese competition. General Motors developed an assembly system that robot arms, conveyor belts, and parts sorters. The heart of the system was the robotic arm, which was dubbed the PUMA , programmable universal machine for assembly. Sales requests for the robot arm went through the roof, the age of the industrial robot was here.THE NEW INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONAnything that is manufactured is manipulated. Every part is manipulated while it is made. Every part is manipulated while is assembled. A part is manipulated when it is delivered from a plant. Everything is manipulatedGeorge C. Devol, Jr. (interview, 3/11/83) The intr...
