KUKA was only a short streetcar ride to the other side of Augsburg. After arriving, we received our badges and entered a theater-like room for a discussion. We first met with an employee from KUKA’s corporate brand management team, who discussed the market challenges the company is facing, how KUKA plans to stay competitive, and ideas for future growth. Although this program primarily focuses on the automotive industry, KUKA is involved in many others as well. One application that surprised me most was the use of KUKA robots in filmmaking, such as filming scenes inside cars or moving objects with precision for camera shots. When these robots are in use, there is little to no human interaction during operation. Human involvement is mostly limited to monitoring, placing parts for the robot, and making updates to the system. 

After speaking with two members of the KUKA team, we toured KUKA College and the factory. KUKA College is an in-house training and education program where people learn how to operate, program, maintain, and troubleshoot KUKA robots. While there are classrooms, much of the learning is hands-on with the robots themselves. I even got to try out a smaller collaborative robot (co-robot) designed to move small parts into precise locations. 

Next, we entered the factory, where our guide showed us the entire production process, from parts arriving in their original packaging to the robots being customized and completed. This factory felt very different from the BMW factory because it was noticeably quieter and operations moved at a slower pace. Since KUKA robots are built to last for many years, producing one robot per minute, like BMW produces cars, would be unnecessary. Instead, each robot takes time to manufacture and is customized based on its intended use. Similar to BMW, robots played a major role in the early stages of assembly, while humans handled much of the work toward the end of production. I found it funny how KUKA robots assemble the KUKA robots, so they are programmed to build themselves. 

Overall, it was interesting to see how such an important part of the automotive supply chain is built and how KUKA has successfully expanded into so many different industries.