Shinichiro (Shin) Nakamura, President of one to ONE Holdings, has published a new article in The Robot Report, arguing that the most consequential question in manufacturing automation is not whether robots will displace workers, but how they can bring more people into the production workforce.
Drawing on examples including OryLab's Dawn cafe in Japan and Panasonic's pilot using OryLab's OriHime robots,, Shin makes the case that the conventional automation narrative has been framed too narrowly.
Key Highlights:
- Inclusion, not replacement, is the real opportunity. 542,000 industrial robots were installed globally in 2024, more than double the figure a decade prior. OryLab's Dawn cafe in Japan, remotely staffed by people with physical disabilities, demonstrates that robots can expand who participates in the workforce.
- Full automation remains out of reach. 70% of manufacturers still capture data manually. The tacit knowledge held by experienced operators, built up over years on the factory floor, is the most underrecognised hurdle between manufacturers and truly autonomous robots.
- Human roles evolve, not disappear. As robots absorb lower-stakes tasks, human capacity shifts toward strategic oversight, process redesign, and AI governance. The most in-demand skills are strategic thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to hold both top-down and bottom-up perspectives.
- Safety must lead, without exception. Shin outlines a clear hierarchy: safety before quality, quality before productivity. Reskilling programmes must be built around this order of priorities.
- Human-robot collaboration, already in practice. Panasonic's pilot using OryLab's OriHime robots found that 94% of respondents held a more positive view of colleagues with physical disabilities after working alongside them via avatar robots. one to ONE Holdings is exploring the same technology as part of its approach to human-augmenting robotics.
[Join the o2Oh Intelligence Network] Receive expert perspectives on optimising digital ecosystems and closing the productivity gap.
