Smart robots do all the work at Nissan’s ‘intelligent’ plant

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

KAMINO KAWA, Japan (AP) — Nissan’s “intelligent factory” hardly has any human workers. The robots do the work, including welding and mounting. They not only do the paint job; they also inspect their own paint job. The assembly line for the Ariya sport-utility vehicle at Nissan’s Tochigi plant, set to be up and running before April, is designed so that all three types of models — electric; e-Power, with both a motor and an engine, and regular combustion engines — can be built on the same line. Nissan says the robots also can help make up for a lack of workers in aging Japan.