Robots Do It All at Japanese Car Factory
2021-10-18
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1There are very few human workers at a new Nissan car factory outside of Tokyo.
2Most of the work is done by robots.
3The car maker said the factory should be running in the first part of 2022.
4Robots have worked for car makers for a long time.
5But humans were often needed to examine the quality of the machines' work.
6Now the machines are smarter.
7They use data and artificial intelligence to learn from mistakes and make corrections.
8Hideyuki Sakamoto is a Nissan Vice President.
9He gave a tour of the production area in early October.
10He said robotic technology has made progress to the point that workers center their attention on maintaining the machines and studying data.
11The factory in Tochigi will produce three versions of a car called the Ariya.
12It will make traditional gas engines, electric engines and a hybrid, which combines electric and gas.
13The cars can all be made on the same production line.
14As the cars move, large robotic arms move cameras along the car surfaces to make sure there are no mistakes.
15Nissan said the developments at the Tochigi factory are likely to spread to factories around the world in time.
16One of the changes has to do with how paint is put on the cars.
17In the past, car bodies and bumpers on the front and back needed to be painted separately because they are made from different materials.
18Now, however, the parts can be painted at the same time.
19The new method reduces energy use by 25 percent.
20Another machine in the factory makes a part that is being used instead of rare earth magnets in the electric cars.
21Sakamoto said all the new methods should help Nissan save money and to faster deal with changes in the car market and worker availability.
22The company also needs to meet government requirements for limiting the release of carbon gases linked to global warming.
23Nissan expects to regain profitable operations this financial year.
24But the carmaker faced problems when its former chief Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan for financial wrongdoing.
25Ghosn then fled to Lebanon to avoid trial.
26I'm Dan Friedell.
1There are very few human workers at a new Nissan car factory outside of Tokyo. Most of the work is done by robots. 2The car maker said the factory should be running in the first part of 2022. 3Robots have worked for car makers for a long time. But humans were often needed to examine the quality of the machines' work. Now the machines are smarter. They use data and artificial intelligence to learn from mistakes and make corrections. 4Hideyuki Sakamoto is a Nissan Vice President. He gave a tour of the production area in early October. 5He said robotic technology has made progress to the point that workers center their attention on maintaining the machines and studying data. 6The factory in Tochigi will produce three versions of a car called the Ariya. It will make traditional gas engines, electric engines and a hybrid, which combines electric and gas. 7The cars can all be made on the same production line. As the cars move, large robotic arms move cameras along the car surfaces to make sure there are no mistakes. Nissan said the developments at the Tochigi factory are likely to spread to factories around the world in time. 8One of the changes has to do with how paint is put on the cars. In the past, car bodies and bumpers on the front and back needed to be painted separately because they are made from different materials. Now, however, the parts can be painted at the same time. The new method reduces energy use by 25 percent. 9Another machine in the factory makes a part that is being used instead of rare earth magnets in the electric cars. 10Sakamoto said all the new methods should help Nissan save money and to faster deal with changes in the car market and worker availability. The company also needs to meet government requirements for limiting the release of carbon gases linked to global warming. 11Nissan expects to regain profitable operations this financial year. But the carmaker faced problems when its former chief Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan for financial wrongdoing. Ghosn then fled to Lebanon to avoid trial. 12I'm Dan Friedell. 13Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 14What do you think of Nissan's new factory in Japan? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 15____________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17artificial intelligence -n. an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence 18tour -n. an activity in which you go through a place (such as a building or city) in order to see and learn about the different parts of it 19hybrid - adj. something that is formed by combining two or more things 20rare earth - n. involving a set of related elements that have different but useful chemical properties for industry and especially electronics