Growing up in a small town in Ohio, in “the Heartland,” I saw firsthand the challenges of producing and farming. One in every of the most important challenges? Labor.

Within the twenty first Century, people don’t go into manufacturing as much as they did a number of a long time ago. Take welding, for instance. The typical age of welders within the U.S. is 57 years old, and on the slow rate that individuals enter the welding industry, there won’t be enough people to fill the 400000 welding jobs which might be predicted to be open in 2024. There already aren’t enough welders today. And the demand for manufactured goods has only increased.

After I first saw Path Robotics’ 80-foot robots during a networking event at their office in Columbus, Ohio, I used to be blown away by the scale and scope of the corporate, each literally and figuratively.

The robots were awe-inspiring, and about eight months ago, I joined the Path Robotics team as VP of Engineering. I used to be invigorated by the thought of solving such difficult challenges that were quite literally near home.

It’s a standard misconception that robots and AI are coming for our jobs. The very fact of the matter is, there are usually not enough humans to do the roles we’d like filled. We see this day by day with our customers. They’re crying out for help because they can not meet demand. They can not hire fast enough, and there simply are usually not enough welders to fill all of the open welding jobs.

That’s where the robots are available in.

At Path Robotics, we’re using software, hardware, computer vision, machine learning and AI so as to add human intelligence to traditional robotics. We imagine that the information our systems generate unlocks scalability, and with that data we are able to teach robots how you can replicate human behavior and scale product growth. Using our expertise in engineering and AI, we’re constructing the eyes and hands of our robots to receive data, use algorithms to adapt to information, and make actions based on our deep understanding of producing outcomes.

Right away we’re laser focused on welding since it is such a pressing issue for our customers, but this technology has the potential to unravel every strategy of manufacturing: taking raw materials, getting them prepared, assembling, welding, grinding, painting, etc. Since the labor shortage isn’t going away.

The manufacturing industry doesn’t have the humans to maintain up with the demand and the speed of change of skill. Modern manufacturing relies increasingly more on just-in-time supply chains and just-in-time creation (consider how easy it’s to 3D print something in your individual house), and the flexibility to answer rapid changes in production could make or break an organization’s bottom line. Retooling or retraining what staff you do have is expensive.

Our technology helps manufacturers adapt as quickly as they need to, move as fast as they need to, and keep quality at the extent they need. All of which is tough to do with human staff, especially when the humans are difficult to seek out, take time to coach, or are able to retire.

There’s also one other really cool upside to adding robots to your team: your people learn adjoining skills as they work directly with the technology.

Our CEO Andy Lonsberry at all times keeps our core mission front and center, that we enable robots to construct so humans can create. That is the vision now we have for the long run: using technology to create more, create faster, and let people concentrate on the creative elements that they’re best at solving.

It’s about empowering humans and unleashing real potential.

Something that stood out to me after I first joined the team was how engineering-focused our team is. Our engineering team is about 100 people strong, which is about half of the corporate. Our work is groundbreaking, and our patent portfolio reflects that. To me, that’s not only a cool fun fact. It’s an actual testament to our mission. It’s a mark that we’re inventing a future that doesn’t yet exist.

Our vision at Path is so powerful, and the complete team is so focused on inventing ways to unravel problems which might be 80 years within the making — and only getting worse.

Intelligence is core to this vision: enabling robots to receive and interpret information at the extent of humans. It’s audacious, but when you see those giant robots in motion, out in real manufacturing environments, you possibly can see just how tangible this technology, this solution, really is.

Being based in Columbus, we’re solving manufacturing problems in the guts of the manufacturing region. It only is sensible to me that the brains of the manufacturing future could be right here within the Midwest, too. We wish to unravel real problems and help real people.

By the best way, we at all times need more experts able to innovate with us. And that is precisely what you’ll do on the Path engineering team: solve difficult problems, make an actual impact, and reinvent the long run. For those who’re all in favour of a mission-driven profession at Path Robotics, try our open jobs and apply now.