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Why was Unimate used for repetitive and hazardous work at a General Motors factory?
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At the top of the machine is a stack of punched cards that would be fed into the loom to control the weaving pattern. This method of automatically issuing machine instructions was employed by computers well into the 20th century.
The Unimate was utilized at a General Motors Corporation factory because it was capable of performing tasks that were considered "unsavoury" or hazardous for human workers. Specifically, the robot was tasked with the repetitive and dangerous job of removing and stacking hot metal parts directly from a die-casting machine.1
By automating this process, the technology protected human employees from the physical risks associated with handling high-temperature materials while simultaneously maintaining consistent production sequences. This application marked the beginning of the automobile industry becoming the largest global user of industrial robotics.1