How GM Is Preparing for the Next Era of Robotics and Automation

We're here with Michael Taylor, Director of Robotics Strategy at General Motors. Thank you so much for being here today, Michael. Pleasure to be here. Yeah, tell us a little bit when it comes to robotics strategy. That has evolved so much from what we maybe thought of as robotics 5, 10, 15 years ago. What does robotics mean today? What are we working on here? Well, what's really interesting is that a lot of different sectors kind of have different meanings for it now, right? And it really has to do with their tolerance of risk, especially with newer technologies that may be a little bit unproven. And so in industrial robotics, logistics and manufacturing, I think that there's a lot of interest in newer technologies and the new physical AI space, but there's also a lot of problems to solve with more traditional technologies that we're still waiting to mature to that readiness level. Yeah, and thinking about some of those problems to solve, what problems are you trying to solve with robotics right now? I'm sure a lot of them, but what problems really come to mind that say, okay, we need a robot for this? A lot of things that have really kind of highly repetitive motions involved with them or a lot of heavy lifting, there's a lot of that in industrial spaces. And not all of it has been something that we can automate over time. And so where there are opportunities now for, you know, let the robot lift that or let the robot do that really repetitive thing, that's really kind of where we're focused. And it should reduce ergonomic and safety issues. And it should make jobs a lot more pleasant for people and kind of make them robot wranglers instead of, you know, being the ones putting their own bodies at risk. Yeah, and when we think about GM, you think about obviously cars and the cars that are produced and so many other kind of products and services and everything. Where does robotics fit into that? Does it fit into one specific area? Is it across the entire company? So my team is really focused on the manufacturing robotics. And so what can we do to bring them to plants and address the safety issues? And even in a lot of cases, do a lot more inspection. There's a lot that cameras of different types can see that the human eye can't, and what can that do for us in terms of quality and getting things right the first time. Yeah, and thinking about getting it right, one of the biggest concerns obviously that people have is safety, right? Is this robot going to go crazy and run around and do whatever it's going to do that we didn't want it to do? So how do you make sure that those safety protocols are put in place so that these robots are safe? There are really well-defined safety regulations for industrial equipment, which includes robots, that we follow and they do make the problem harder. It's a little bit different than, you know, making a sidewalk robot or making something that runs around a grocery store. But it is all fundamentally about keeping people safe and so that extra difficulty is 100% worth it. I think it fosters a lot of creativity and innovation in the design work and so those regulations are what help keep people safe and our team's working on it. We just have an extra exciting problem to solve. Yeah, it's exciting to hear you talk about it in that way because sometimes you think of whether it's regulation or just safety concerns as being a true constraint that might really constrain your creativity. But you're saying that actually it kind of helps with that. So tell us how those things kind of work together. So I think a lot of constraints, right, do breed that innovation, right? And I think that there's a lot of people out there who can go solve a problem, but trying to solve it within a different kind of constraints, that can make you a unique offering within the market. I worked for a startup that did advanced safety systems for robotics, and they existed as startup because the technology existed. People had done it, but they had not done it in a way that was safety certifiable. And there was an interest in the capability it provided in industrial use. So, you know, that created a whole bunch of jobs and a really fun company and really fascinating technology because that constraint existed. Yeah. And getting to think about how do you actually solve the problem to make this robot work the way you want, be safe, all of those different things you're keeping in mind. And it takes a mind that has such a breadth of kind of information and everything to draw on, right? Because you need the creativity, but you also need a true science technological background to be able to put this together. So I know you have a lot of experience. You've been doing this for a long time. What has all that experience from all of these other projects and other companies you've been at really taught you today to be able to work so well at GM? I think it's really having seen what good looks like in a lot of very different environments, right? I've done defense robotics and I've done industrial robotics And those all have really high demands on those robotic systems, right? They can't fail. They can't be a cool demo. They are not there because they're neat and novel and somebody wanted it. If they're there, if they have a presence in that environment, it's because they need to be doing a job extremely well and not let down people. And so I think that for GM, that's really what we're working with in the same ethos, right? Our job is to not let down the people in the plants with the robots that we think can help. And that changes how you design. and it changes how you approach the problem, and to me, that's the fun part. That's the really fun team I want to be part of. Yeah, that is exciting to think about all these things that you could create and how you create them. When you think about the other kind of question that some people have is, well, what if the robots come and then there go all the jobs? And obviously we know that that's not going to happen. Not everyone's going to be replaced in the kind of traditional sense of that fear. But what do you say to those people who say, well, if the robots are here, then maybe my job won't be? I have been working in robotics for 20 years, and if there is anything I've gotten out of it, it's a tremendous appreciation for what humans are capable of doing and a tremendous appreciation for the fact that robots can't do a lot of that stuff. So for me, I am very bullish on this. Human-robot teaming, collaboration, is one of my kind of favorite parts of this job, is not thinking about how can I replace this person with this robot, but instead, when I put this robot in and it's doing this part of the work, what is the person going to do differently? Are they going to do more? Are they going to do different kind of work? How are they interacting with the robot? Are they handing work off to each other or just kind of working in parallel? That's what's really interesting to me. I think that's a huge space for innovation in industrial robotics is this workflow design. And that's the future I see, not replacement. Yeah, that workflow kind of design and how do you kind of restructure all that is so interesting to think about as we move forward. And lastly, when you think about what's next, obviously our minds, our imaginations are going crazy with everything that we could have with robotics. Where do you see it going the next year, the next five years? Where do we think robotics is going to be? I think that robotics, especially in these kind of high uptime commercial environments, the challenge is really scalability. It's not capability, it's scalability. How do we scale these systems more easily, faster, and more cost effectively to get out there and do the work that we want them to do. And so that doesn't even need a lot of the fancier technologies. It needs a lot of really creative thinking about existing technologies and then sprinkling in some of the newer stuff where it makes the most sense and where it can have the most impact. So over the next few years, I think we'll see that scaling start to happen. Then on a longer time horizon, you know, in the next kind of decade and more, we'll really see these capabilities that are starting to be unlocked today, then follow that same scaling path. Well, it's exciting to see where all this is going to go. Thank you so much for being here, Michael Taylor. We really appreciate it. Thanks so much.