Yet, broad adoption of this advanced automation has lagged. “That’s not necessarily or just a technology gap,” says John Hart, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Production Technologies at MIT. “It relates to workforce capabilities and financial commitments and risk required.” For small and medium enterprises, and those with brownfield sites—older facilities with legacy systems— the barriers to implementation are significant.
In recent years, governments have stepped in to accelerate industrial progress. Through a revival of industrial policies, governments are incentivizing high-tech manufacturing, re-localizing critical production processes, and reducing reliance on fragile global supply chains.
All these developments converge in a key moment for manufacturing. The external pressures on the industry—met with technological progress and these new political incentives—may finally enable the shift toward advanced automation.
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