Robotic Sewing Machine Could End Sweatshops

Summary: The U.S. startup company Sewbo has developed a breakthrough method to automate the feeding of fabric into sewing machines, a process currently done by hand. Sewbo's robotic system, called the UR5, uses an off-the-shelf sewing machine and an off-the-shelf robotic arm that costs about $35,000. The UR5 may still be more expensive than cheap foreign sweatshop labor where wages can be as low as $95/month. However, it is theorized that the UR5 and other automated sewing robots could eventually become much cheaper, allowing U.S. manufacturers to recapture the U.S. garment market.

Breakthrough innovation: Sewbo's breakthrough innovation is to temporarily stiffen fabrics with a re-usable thermoplastic. This allows off-the-shelf industrial robotic systems, that often have difficulty manipulating limp, flexible fabrics, to easily build garments in a way similar to working with sheet metal. The thermoplastic stiffener material is water soluble allowing it to be removed from the clothing via a simple rinse in hot water.

Why this news is important: Robotic systems such as the UR5 may allow U.S. manufacturers to re-capture some of the roughly $100 billion worth of clothing that is imported into the U.S. on an annual basis. The U.S Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency invested in automated sewing technology in 2012 as a means to lessen the reliance on foreign clothing manufacturers, especially Chinese manufacturers. A move that could be interpreted as a form of industrial warfare. Yet as wages have increased in China since 2012, many sweatshops have moved to less developed countries with lower wages, such as Bangladesh. Interestingly, Chinese manufacturers have also begun making significant investment in automated manufacturing in an attempt to maintain competitiveness.

Image credit and references:

• Image of UR5 from Sewbo, October 12, 2016.
• Animated image from Sewbo UR5 promotional video, October 12, 2016.
• Video of Sewbo UR5 from Sewbo, October 12, 2016.
• Article by Signe Brewster of MIT Technology Review, "A Robot That Sews Could Take the Sweat Out of Sweatshops," September 22, 2016.
• Article by Live Science Staff, "Pentagon's Robot Sewing Machines Take Aim at China's Factories," June 7, 2012.
• Trade data from the International Trade Administration, U.S. Imports and Exports of Textiles and Apparel, accessed October 12, 2016.
• Article by Jane Wakefield at the BBC, "Foxconn replaces 60,000 factory workers with robots," May 25, 2016.