LESS DOWN TIME FOR GENERAL MOTORS AS THEY CONNECT THEIR ROBOTS TO THE INTERNET

The General Motors Company has connected about a quarter of its 30,000 factory robots to the internet, and the largest U.S. automaker already is reaping the benefits of less down time.

In the last two years, GM has avoided 100 potential failures of vehicle-assembling robots by analyzing the data sent to external servers in the cloud. Connectivity issues are preventing assembly line interruptions and robot replacements that can take as long as eight hours.

Hooking the robots to the internet prevents maintenance which is just the start of a new robotic technology. It allows General Motors to order parts when the system detects they’re wearing out; it reduces inventory, saves the company money and allows robots to work safely alongside humans in the factory that produces the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.