Robots get smarter and more versatile: Robots and computer-based systems proliferate, having gained inroads due to labor shortages

The high degree of industrial automation in Japan is characterized by an ever-increasing use of robots and computers in production control. In fact, robotry is a full-fledged industry in itself, with some 120 Japanese companies presently manufacturing various types of robots and 1977 sales expected to reach a total of $300 million. Two thirds of this volume involves so-called “low-class” robots — sequentially controlled devices mainly employing techniques such as relay logic or mechanical sequencers. The rest of the market is comprised of “middle-class” robots that have a “playback” or numerical-control capability and employ position coders. In addition, recent models of the latter are being equipped with sensors, making them more adaptable to flexible programming.