Japan explores AI as the pandemic curbs in-person quality control

At a factory south of Japan's Toyota City, robots have started sharing the work of quality-control inspectors as the pandemic accelerates a shift from Toyota's vaunted "go-and-see" system, which helped revolutionize mass production in the 20th century. Inside the auto parts plant of Musashi Seimitsu, a robotic arm picks up and spins a bevel gear, scanning its teeth against a light in search of surface flaws. The inspection takes about two seconds -- similar to that of highly trained employees who check around 1,000 units per shift. "Inspecting 1,000 of the exact same thing day in day out requires a lot of skill and expertise, but it's not very creative," CEO Hiroshi Otsuka told Reuters. "We'd like to release workers from those tasks."