We woke up and headed downstairs for our second company visit: KUKA. After a brief intro from Lawrence, who works in corporate brand management, we were able to see the robots in action with a presentation. This amazed me because of how the robots are able to work simultaneously toward a common goal. I was able to appreciate all the programming and detail that went into creating this robot and how much they are capable of.
After our Cafe break, we were able to play a video game simulation to see how each machine ran. I really liked this idea because it took the show over-tell option and was interactive. By making it a video game, it also appealed to Gen Z, and I noticed more people paying attention during this part. I think this is because we had more freedom to play around with the game.
We then had a guest talk, who shared his experience working at KUKA, especially in the automotive industry for Tesla and Ford. He mentioned a difference between Ford, having more leniency on days to have things ready, compared to Tesla’s tight schedule. I think this was due to the age of the companies. Ford has established itself in the market and does not need to worry as much about gaining trust like Tesla, which is new and is still working toward it. He mentioned the integration of AI into robots and the possible challenges of predictability and management that have to be maintained when working with it.
After an informative Q and A, we went on our factory tour. Our tour guide, Wolfgang, was very passionate about his many years spent at KUKA, and even mentioned he “Bleeds orange.” This was a testament to how KUKA treats its employees, as well as his staying with the company even after he retired. Wolfgang was a little bit nervous about his English, because some words were harder to describe. I believed his English was exceptional, and it made me realize that many of the Germans here talk down on their English when each person has been exceptional. I wonder why this is, possibly because of the higher standards they hold themselves to academically. For example, the German students explained how you were placed into one of 2 schools based on academics after elementary school, which feels like an immense amount of pressure.
This tour showed the creation of a KUKA robot. Wolfgang also made a statement that surprised me: he said he would trust a robot to perform surgery more than a human because of how precise machines can be. At first, I disagreed, but after hearing him explain that most accidents involving robots are actually caused by human error, I started to change my mind.
After the tour, we took the tram back to our hotel. For lunch, we got Zhem, which is a sandwich shop. I thought it was pretty good. Jordyn and I also did some window shopping, but nothing caught my eye. We ended our night by meeting up with the German students who are headed to Pittsburgh in the fall for dinner.