At a factory in the south of Japan‘s Toyota City, robots have started to work as quality-control inspectors.
Inside the Musashi Seimitsu Industry Co Ltd plant a robotic arm picks up and spins a bevel gear, scanning its teeth against a light in search of surface flaws.
The inspection takes about two seconds – similar to that of highly trained employees who check around 1,000 units per shift. Global manufacturers have long used robots in production while leaving the work of spotting the flaws mainly to humans. But social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have prompted a rethink of the factory floor. It has spurred an increased use of robots and other technology for quality control, including remote monitoring which was already being adopted before the pandemic.