[ti:American Companies Rent Robots to Small Factories] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Better technology and rising wages [00:04.24]are leading an increase in sales of robots [00:08.28]to big companies all across America. [00:12.20]But smaller factories have shown less interest in the devices. [00:17.80]Robots are costly purchases. [00:21.32]Now, some investors are supporting a financial plan [00:26.60]for a robot pay-by-use plan. [00:30.16]This means smaller factories could pay to use a robot [00:35.24]when they want its service, but they would not own the device. [00:41.40]Garry Tan's business Initialized Capital is one of the investors. [00:48.12]He says he sees three important social [00:51.32]and economic changes taking place now. [00:55.56]Tan said low-cost and better robot computer vision [01:00.28]and other intelligence technology is growing more available. [01:05.08]He said financing is available at low interest rates, also. [01:11.20]And, disagreements between the United States and China [01:16.56]about supply chains have created more interest in robots, Tan said. [01:23.20]The investors' business plan puts much of the financial demand [01:28.12]on new robot companies. [01:30.32]These companies carry the risk of a manufacturer [01:34.52]losing a business deal or changing a product. [01:38.20]Smaller factories often produce smaller amounts [01:42.60]of special products that do not need robotic support. [01:47.40]And Silicon Valley Robotics, [01:50.08]an industry group supporting robot startups, [01:53.72]says that in the past, financing has been difficult. [01:59.12]Still, some powerful investors support the idea. [02:04.76]Tiger Global, the biggest financer of this year's new tech companies, [02:10.64]has invested in three robot leasing companies in seven months. [02:16.84]Bob Albert's family owns Polar Hardware Manufacturing, [02:21.48]a 105-year-old factory in Chicago. [02:26.88]The company paid less than $10 an hour for a robot. [02:31.92]It paid the average human more than $20 an hour. [02:37.04]Albert watched this month as a robot arm picked up a metal bar, [02:43.24]spun around, and placed it in an older machine. [02:47.60]Together, the machines created a door handle. [02:52.32]"If the robot works really well, we'll use it a lot," [02:56.48]said Albert, who was pleased with the early results. [03:01.36]Westec Plastics Corp, in Livermore, California, [03:06.32]got its first robot in January 2020 [03:10.52]and now has three from Rapid Robotics. [03:14.24]The company charges $3,750 a month for a robot in the first year [03:23.00]and $2,100 a month starting in year two. [03:28.84]"Melvin runs 24 hours a day, all three shifts, [03:34.00]and that replaced three full operators," [03:37.44]said President Tammy Barras about the named robot. [03:42.08]She also said she is saving about $60,000 [03:47.04]in labor costs a year with one robot alone. [03:51.08]"We've had to increase our wages quite significantly this year [03:56.04]because of what is going on in the world. [03:59.24]And luckily, Melvin has not increased his pay rate. [04:04.00]He doesn't ask for a raise." [04:06.76]Barras, who has 102 employees, [04:10.88]says robots cannot replace humans today [04:14.76]because robots can perform only repetitive, simple jobs. [04:19.72]Jordan Kretchmer is cofounder and CEO of Rapid Robotics. [04:26.28]He said he meets people who have doubts about robots. [04:30.84]"A lot of times we've walked in and there's a graveyard [04:34.88]of robots that they bought in the past," he said. [04:38.80]But he added, "robots can be easy and they do work [04:43.96]when they're in the hands of the right people." [04:47.88]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM