Foxconn is famous for its Apple foundries and is also one of the world-famous foundry giants. In the past few years, Foxconn has also been committed to the layout of the robot industry and has always adhered to the concept of "machine substitution". Guo Taiming once stated that it is expected that 1 million robots can be deployed in Foxconn factories in 2014 to realize a highly automated "unmanned factory". The concept of the well-known "Black Light Factory" has not yet been implemented. In the previous article, we have also analyzed the reasons: click to review
But obviously, Foxconn has not given up! On July 14, Sharp, a subsidiary of Foxconn, released a new type of unmanned guided vehicle ( AGV )-"TYPE LC". It is reported that this is a new AGV product that can move products and goods in logistics warehouses, factories and other places. It will be on sale on July 20.
Sharp pointed out that this product uses the attached special software "Easy Course Editor" to easily set the movement route of the "TYPE LC" through the included tablet device. The maximum walking speed of "TYPE LC" is 60m/min, and it can move forward and rotate.
In addition, Sharp will greatly reduce the price of introducing AGV systems. According to Nikkei News, the investment in the introduction of AGV systems may generally reach tens of millions of yen, while Sharp lowered the price of "TYPE LC" to 1.94 million yen, hoping to lower the import threshold in this way and attract more Enterprise use.
Since Sharp was acquired by Foxconn, it has released a number of AGV products, thanks to the "machine substitution" concept that Foxconn has been using.
Starting point-robot dream
Foxconn's AGV road starts with the concept of "machine substitution". The Hon Hai Group has always regarded the robotics field as its development focus. In 2007, Hon Hai Group began to plan to use robots to replace human work, and therefore established a robotics subsidiary. In 2019, Guo Taiming, the former chairman of Hon Hai Group, proposed at the 2019 Hon Hai Group Shareholders’ Meeting, “Our internal plan is to remove these workers within 5 years. Our goal is to remove 80% of these workers. We will do it in 10 years, because technology is already here."
Foxconn has been advancing toward this concept since its development. In 2011, Foxconn announced the "Million Robots" plan; in 2016, Foxconn completed the "lightless factory" production line; in 2018, the Hon Hai Group and its major subsidiaries have a total of more than 80,000 robots and more than 170,000 robots. Mold processing equipment, more than 1,600 SMT production lines, and more than 5,000 test equipment.
At present, Foxconn produces at least 10,000 robots every year . These robots have successfully replaced manpower and reduced costs. Take Kunshan as an example. Foxconn has laid off more than 60,000 workers and replaced them with robots, greatly improving work efficiency.
Midpoint-AGV application
Foxconn has been steadily advancing the realization of production automation, and the application of AGV unmanned trucks as a key equipment for realizing the automation of logistics handling links in Foxconn's internal factories has gradually emerged in recent years.
In workshops such as SMT, Foxconn is implementing automatic distribution of electronic materials in warehouses through the use of AGV trucks. Previously, Foxconn's internal AGV application focused on finding relevant manufacturers to cooperate. As the world's largest 3C product foundry, Foxconn has more than 30 science and technology industrial parks in mainland China. Because of the large range of applications, there are also many AGV suppliers. In the selection of suppliers, in addition to safety and stability, based on the characteristics of the 3C manufacturing industry, the flexibility of robots has become the focus of the 3C manufacturing industry, and Foxconn is no exception.
Foxconn's production line is extremely rich. As far as the mobile phone is concerned, in addition to the well-known Apple mobile phones, it also produces mobile phones of well-known domestic brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi and OPPO. Therefore, the change of the production line is extremely frequent, even once a month, re-assembly and combination. And this kind of flexible production requires more flexible and rapid conversion of the work process, low deployment and operation costs, efficient and reliable operation in the traditional manufacturing industry.
Therefore, in the process of selecting AGV manufacturers for large-scale foundry companies in the 3C industry such as Foxconn, the ability to adapt to this flexible demand has been placed in a more important position. Foxconn in AGV suppliers include very wise Ka Yee Fung robot, Buddha wisdom science and technology, is committed to flexible Stender and other technical line business.
Next stop-layout AMR
With the continuous increase of internal applications and the rich experience and deep technology in the field of industrial robots , Foxconn has also begun to deploy mobile robot production and research and development. At present, the naming, registration, and capital verification of the joint venture between Hon Hai and ADLINK is expected to be completed in late July. ADLINK revealed that in cooperation with Hon Hai, both parties will lock in AMR. ADLINK believes that in the future 5G private network, the most important application is AMR.
The cooperation between Hon Hai and ADLINK is a strong alliance! In recent years, ADLINK has successfully integrated artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve robot controllers for precise control, perception, real-time communication and vision. ADLINK has opened up its self-developed controller platform and used it to re-establish a new standard for intelligent manufacturing, turning ROS2 into a common platform for mobile robots.
ADLINK has also set up an ambitious plan to successfully develop at least 200 innovative intelligent robot products by 2025, and establish Taiwan's global leadership in the field of intelligent robots.
Not to mention Hon Hai, it has rich experience and deep technical background in the field of industrial robots.
Hon Hai and ADLINK hope to use the standard real-time data transmission architecture (DDS) adopted by the international robotics open source architecture ROS2. The new company will combine Hon Hai’s advanced robotic electromechanical integration experience with ADLINK’s software technology advantages to optimize software and hardware integration. Strengthen the real-time decision-making required by autonomous robots during group interaction, including precise actions and dynamic management, to achieve smooth network communication between autonomous robots without delay, thereby expanding the application value of autonomous robot clusters in different fields.
From application to self-research, it can be seen that Foxconn's increasing emphasis on mobile robot applications has also confirmed its strong willingness to "robot substitution".
