Welcome to the factory of the future: It’s smaller, more nimble, and run by highly skilled Americans. Just as important, networks of these facilities could crop up across the United States, bringing manufacturing closer to consumers and lessening reliance on a crippled global supply chain.
The key to bringing this audacious vision to fruition? Compact robots. That’s according to Bright Machines, a San Francisco-based startup that makes software and refrigerator-size robotic modules capable of assembling small goods–anything from household appliances to tools to electronics. Plugged together, the modules can create entire micro-assembly lines, and the robots can follow instructions in sequence, thanks to flexible, customizable software.
