Robotics in the factory of the future: Robotic technology in shipbuilding applications

The United States Shipbuilding Industry is currently undergoing a period of self-examination with the prospect of a contest for survival of the fittest looming on the horizon. The few commercial shipbuilding contracts that appear on the worldwide market are typically awarded to one or another of the foreign competitors. The primary customer for the U.S. industry is the U.S. Navy, and that source cannot support the total shipbuilding capacity currently in existence. This paper offers the suggestion of flexible automation as a means for the industry to improve productivity. Problems associated with the implementation of this new technology are discussed and examples of projects that are intended to provide solutions for these problems are presented. Shipbuilders are making substantial efforts to improve their production methods and are using group technology concepts to establish process lanes where work of a similar nature is accomplished in the same work station. This rationalized approach coupled with the move of the robotics industry toward providing intelligent machines should provide an excellent opportunity for the introduction of flexible automation into an industry of vital importance to the national defense.