These robots are hardly bound for Broadway, but following
choreographed paths of magnetic tape along the floor they can keep the
production line in harmony.Carrying weight as well as carrying a tune, these CarryBee robots, are made by Nissan subsidiary Aichikikai Techno System, which began as an offshoot of Nissan’s Oppama plant.
The CarryBee assembly line
Each CarryBee is assembled by hand.
To date, some 1,450 bees have been buzzing around Nissan factories, with up to 400 made each year.
Nissan licenses the manufacture and sale of CarryBees, but Techno System developed its own patents.
Aichikikai Techno System President Kazuya Yoshida with a CarryBee
Aichikikai Techno System President Kazuya Yoshida says each robot is
programmed with standard software for six songs, including Mary Had A
Little Lamb and the theme to the Japanese cartoon Sazae-san.“The six songs, based on the customers’ preference, they can freely choose the song using the dial. I think that the song that is used most often is Sazae-san,” says Yoshida.
That might be a familiar jingle for Japanese clients, including Toyota and Mitsubishi, but it’s also played at overseas factories, such as those of General Motors, Volkswagen, Fiat and Hyundai.
But the music’s main purpose:“’Attention please!’ during normal running,” says Yoshida.
The robots are not only musical, they’re also smart, as some can automatically self-charge their 8-hour capacity lithium battery, or allow automatic train linking。
Yoshida says they might change the robots’ tunes in the future.
“The songs are currently standardized, but if it becomes necessary to support customers with that, there’s the possibility to change the songs.”
But for now, it’s “Play it again, Sazae-san.”
