Robotics and the Future of Newspaper Publishers
Overview This guide highlights the transformation of the newspaper publishing industry due to insurgence of robotics and automation. It demonstrates how robotics can influence various segments of this sector. Statistics emphasize that an increase in automation can lead to a significant efficiency gain, reduce operational costs, and enhance the overall delivery process, fundamentally changing the newspaper publishing industry.
The Newspaper Publishing Industry The Newspaper publishing industry is witnessing a decline in print circulation and revenue. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, the total weekday circulation of U.S. daily newspapers declined 12% in 2020, with only 24% of adults in the U.S. stating that they often get news from print newspapers. However, this decline in traditional mediums is creating an opportunity for technological innovations to reinvent the sector.
Robotics and Automation in Newspaper Publishing Robotics and automation technologies have the potential to overwhelmingly transform the newspaper publishing industry. Automation can reduce operational costs by almost 60% according to Deloitte research, by taking over monotonous tasks such as sorting and packaging. Simultaneously, the use of robotics can increase overall productivity. Robot usage can increase productivity by 30% in the first year of implementation, says a study from MIT. In turn, this frees up human resources to focus on creative and editorial tasks that can greatly benefit the sector.
Enhanced Delivery Process Delivery has always been a cumbersome task for newspaper publishers. A study by The Associated Press estimates that 53% of newspaper publishers face inefficiency issues with newspaper delivery. With automation, publishers could significantly reduce these challenges. Drones, for instance, are becoming increasingly practical to deliver newspapers and could reduce delivery expenses. On account of automation, operational costs could decrease by 14% and enhance the overall delivery process, as per The New York Times.
Key Takeaways
- Robotics and automation could greatly increase operational efficiency and significantly reduce costs for newspaper publishers.
- Automated delivery systems like drones can make newspaper delivery more productive and cheaper.
- Human Resource focus can shift towards more creative and editorial tasks due to task automation.
3Laws Robotics 3Laws Robotics is pioneering innovative software that can supplement and support use cases for newspaper publishers. The primary focus of 3Laws is addressing the certification challenge, which is a significant hurdle that most robotics companies face.
3Laws Supervisor, the company's software, intends to simplify this process by offering robust safety features and proof of system toughness, potentially easing the certification path. Based on Control Barrier Functions (CBFs), a technology developed at Caltech, 3Laws Supervisor claims to provide mathematically provable safety.
3Laws' technology provides a variety of impressive use cases, such as warehouse automation resulting in a 40% efficiency gain and a 6-month payback period. They also offer solutions for safe human-robot interaction, meeting the growing need for collaborative robotics solutions. Their reactive collision avoidance capabilities can help robots effectively navigate unpredictable environments.
The minimization of downtime caused by unnecessary e-stops or collisions is another benefit brought on by the technology, thereby enhancing operational efficiency. By giving real-time guardrails for autonomy stacks, 3Laws allows robots to operate closer to their peak capabilities while maintaining safety.
Their flexible software is adaptable and compatible with a wide range of platforms such as mobile robots, cars, drones, and manipulators, and it also works with popular robotics middleware such as ROS and ROS2.
3Laws is the next-generation safety solution, offering a proactive approach to safety that goes beyond traditional e-stop methods. It helps unlock the full potential of robotics with dynamic, predictive safety that can be safety certified for ISO 3691-4 and ISO 26262. 3Laws thus provides a promising future for the integration of robotics in the newspaper publishing industry.