They are the most reliable performers out there.They never loose their voice or get jealous of another’s role. Normally thought to grace the warehouse floor, robots are now making a debut in a more artistic sector – the opera.
Theatre, which has been slow to add robots to the cast list, is now using technology to help the audience feel closer to the performers.Spearheading the movement is composer Tod Machover of the MIT Media Lab, who is using robots to bring innovation to opera.
“Death and the Powers,” the technologically savvy opera, is set in a future where there are no more human beings. The robots are left with a text about humans and must determine the meaning of humanity. The robots interact with the characters and become a part of the story. In this story, the robots serve as more than merely props.
The introduction of robots as characters in “Death and the Powers” has the potential to change the landscape of theatre as a whole. Technology may be used more frequently to give audience members a more interactive experience. Will robotics companies be advertising in the theatre sector soon?
BtoB marketing is an interesting space. Every day we get to see how business really works – how ordinary and extraordinary people face the challenges presented by the macro forces of politics, the economy and the ever-changing technology landscape. Yesterday, for example, we learned how to make a dinosaur. And it turned out to be a pretty simple recipe, albeit with an interesting back story.
First the recipe. Take a robot, or a fleet of robots, and introduce them to a legacy industrial process that could benefit from automation. Add a little lean design. Then poof! Existing infrastructure, procedures and tasks turn into dinosaurs as the facility moves away from human-centric systems to a fully automated one.
Now the back story, which is an interesting example of “adapt or die.” One of the stronger markets for automation and robots is the automotive industry. But along came the financial crisis of 2008. The resulting slump in factory orders meant that this traditional market, along with other many other manufacturing industries that employ robots, was threatening to go underwater. Which is where the story gets interesting.
The more agile and innovative providers began to look at alternative markets for automation – markets like supply chain industries, food and beverage, healthcare and military support applications.
Fast forward to 2010 – the year of the robots with the Robotics Industry Association reporting North American sales up 40% in the first quarter (www.robotics.org). Under the apt tutelage of our new client, Bill Torrens, a brilliant thinker and VP of Sales and Marketing for RMT Robotics (www.rmtrobotics.com) we are being initiated into the world of automation and lean processes. We learned how robot innovations are turning a lot of today’s current manufacturing and warehousing business models on their heads with jaw dropping results.
BUT, according to Torrens it takes a visionary customer to replace manual labor with robots. So it’s no surprise that entrepreneurial-minded companies like Zappos (www.zappos.com) and OTIS (www.otis.com) are the early adopters whose employees willingly jump the chasm of automation. The ROI calculations are complex and the pay off has a long tail with efficiencies being realized over a long period of time. Success is often a combination of expected cost savings and unexpected, long-term profits gained from supply chain flexibility and logistics efficiency.
It’s industrial revolution V2.0 with paradigm-shifting consequences that will not truly be understood for years. Going the way of the dinosaur are North America’s aging, energy hogging, inefficient factories, warehouse and distribution centers. Going are models of mass production with its inherent waste and enter the era of mass customization that meets the product feature needs of each individual. Going are the dirty, dangerous and dull jobs, jobless recovery not withstanding, to be replaced by a more humane work environment for all workers. And that’s how you make a dinosaur….
BtoB marketing is an interesting space. Every day we get to see how business really works – how ordinary and extraordinary people face the challenges presented by the macro forces of politics, the economy and the ever-changing technology landscape. Yesterday, for example, we learned how to make a dinosaur. And it turned out to be a pretty simple recipe, albeit with an interesting back story.