Panasonic: helping to Make Automated Workplaces Safer

With birthrates in Japan continuing to decline, the country has resorted to innovative ways of addressing the shortage of labor. One approach, workplace automation, has led to more humans working in close proximity to robots.
 
Robots have of course been deployed in manufacturing for many years. Many of us can picture vehicle assembly lines with robot arms seemingly performing most of the tasks with barely a human in sight. In most of these environments, robots and people are strictly segregated by safety fences.