Communications of the ACM
The Rush to Deploy Robots in China Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
A patrol robot at a hospital in Shenyang in Chinas northeastern Liaoning province checks temperatures and identities and disinfects people on Feb, 26, 2020.
Credit: STR, AFP, Getty Images
Chinese companies are scrambling to deploy robots and automation to take over for absent workers as the coronavirus spreads. An American Chamber of Commerce survey of 109 companies in Shanghai found that about 50% face staff shortages over the next few weeks, while 66% cited insufficient personnel to run full production lines.
The Reshoring Institute's Rosemary Coates said the COVID-19 outbreak is a reckoning for both Chinese and U.S. supply chain and risk managers, and finding ways to maintain production for restarting factories could include more automation and robots as substitutes for humans.
Emil Hauch Jensen at Mobile Industrial Robots in Shanghai said the coronavirus epidemic has put a "renewed urgency behind the trend towards increased automation and use of robotics in China."
From CNBC
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Abstracts Copyright © 2020 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
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