iPhone Chipmaker Foxconn Set to Replace Most Human Workers with Robots

[Jack]

Foxconn, the Chinese hardware manufacturer that builds chips for Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, is currently overhauling its entire factories and replacing most of its workforce with robots.

According to Dai Jia-peng, Foxconn's General Manager for Automation Technology Development Committee, the company is following a three-phase plan.

Foxconn's first phase is to set up automated workstations for job positions that are too dangerous for humans or which human workers don't want to do.

Phase two has Foxconn automating entire lines of productions, while in phase three the company will automate entire factories, keeping a few human workers around for supervising production, overseeing logistics, and carrying out the testing and visual inspection process.

Some factories are almost fully automated
According to Dai, three factories (Chengdu, western China, Shenzhen, southern China, and Zhengzhou, northern China) have already reached phase two or three.

Some factories are in a "lights out" state, where there's minimal human intervention in production lines.

Foxconn has developed its own robot technology to automate its production lines. The company can produce up to 10,000 robots per year and has already deployed over 40,000 robots in its factories across China.

Foxconn is the same company that had to install "suicide nets" in its factories due to poor working conditions which drove some employees to take their own lives.

A trend of replacing humans with robots
There have always been rumors and fears of robots replacing human workers. Like never before, in the past year, this rumor has started to become a daily reality for more and more companies and industry sectors.

For example, Uber is working on replacing drivers with autonomous vehicles. Google, as well, has partnered with Fiat Chrysler to launch a ride-sharing service that will use its self-driving technology and which aims to replace taxis in several cities.

Similarly, DARPA is developing autonomous flight technology to replace pilots on airliners.

Read more: iPhone Chipmaker Foxconn Set to Replace Most Human Workers with Robots

 

[Purshu_Pro]

Humans have become greedy, technology is the blood sucker. I wish and hope Government's should do something about this and stop making too many robots where there is more population.

 

[Paul123]

Hope they treat the machines better than they treated the people they had working there. Their answer to suicides of people jumping from the building due to them overworking their staff - nets!

It always amazes me, how we treat people, the most complex machines on this planet. I remember I used to work in an office, where the temperatures got unbearable during the summer, but the servers - they had their own air-conditioned rooms.

In my childhood we were told by the year 2000 AD everything would be done by robots, and humans would live lives of leisure and plenty. Didn't quite happen did it? Mind you neither did those holidays on the Moon.

 

[Entreri]

It will begin with all low skilled occupations, which makes sense btw given the back breaking, unsafe working conditions in most countries (not to mention child labour and at times slavery).

Come now, look at how we treat our fellow animals (killing for sport, killing for medical experiments)...same thing the Nazi's and various other groups have done throughout history to humans. Racial, ethic, religious hatred still around the world.

Still quite a primitive, superstitious and violent species. A type 0 civilization, the lowest.