Last week, Adidas announced that it is setting up a pilot plant in Germany that the shoe manufacturer is calling a “speedfactory.” According to Adidas, this speedfactory will create high-performance shoes faster than ever before by utilizing intelligent robotic technology. The speedfactory should also cut down on the company’s overall environmental impact by reducing the use of adhesives and shipping emissions.
Adidas also says that the speedfactory’s automation makes for a more flexible manufacturing process, although it’s keeping quiet for now about what that actually means. It’s too soon to tell if Adidas’s so-called speedfactory will live up to its self-proclaimed hype, but one thing’s for sure though: they definitely feel the need, the need for speed.
SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Could Adidas’s pilot factory mark the beginning of a new phase in automated tech? Is it too soon to tell?
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