June 07, 2012 02:11pm ETPentagon's Robot Sewing Machines Take Aim at China's Factories The U.S. military is funding an effort to make robotic sewing machines that can sew garments more cheaply than human workers. Here a robot sews furniture in a study at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Credit: Norwegian University of Science and Technology View full size image

Americans may never again buy clothes labeled "made in China" if robot sewing machines can beat Chinese costs of labor. The Pentagon has given $1.2 million to a Georgia Tech spinoff company to turn that futuristic concept into reality.

Such computer-controlled sewing machines must precisely move fabric under the needle "stitch by stitch" and carefully track passing threads — a job normally done with human hands and eyesight. Success could lead to automated U.S. factories that "produce garments with zero direct labor," according to the contract issued by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on June 5.

The idea of making garment cutting and sewing a profitable U.S. business came from Steve Dickerson, founder and chief technology officer of Softwear Automation (the Georgia Tech spinoff company that received DARPA's recent $1.2 million funding). [6 Tips for Inventors From a DARPA Program Manager]

Dickerson realized the possibility for robotic sewing machines after observing that sewn items had disappeared almost entirely from his hometown of Commerce, Ga., and most of the United States. The U.S. currently imports about $100 billion worth of clothes and sewn items each year — much of it from countries such as China or Vietnam.

"The [robotic] technology proposed appears to allow cutting and sewing at costs LESS THAN in China," according to Softwear Automation's website. "There is only one basic innovation required; that the metric of motion should not be meters or inches but rather thread count in the fill and warp directions."

Success could spell out huge disruptions for workers as robots continue taking over human jobs in manufacturing and other industries. Low-paid workers in developing countries stand to lose out the most in this case, but U.S. workers won't gain much, either. Still, U.S. businesses could once again regain a foothold in the garment industry and win back a share of international trade.

The robotic revolution won't stop there. Dickerson has also suggested robots could return manufacturing of smartphones, computers and TVs to U.S. shores — an idea expressed in an email to the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2011. A robotic uprising there could turn up the heat for companies such as Foxconn that manufacture Apple's iPhones and iPads.

五角大楼的机器人缝纫机瞄准中国的工厂

2012年6月7日下午2点11分ETPentagon的机器人缝纫机瞄准中国的Factories 美国军方资助，努力使机器人缝纫机，可缝制服装比更便宜的人力工人。在这里，机器人缝制家具的一项研究，在科学技术的挪威大学。图片来源：科技查看原图

美国人挪威大学可能再也买标有衣服，QUOT;而在中国，QUOT制造;如果机器人缝纫机可以击败劳动力成本的中国。五角大楼定的$ 120万佐治亚理工分拆公司把这一未来的概念转变为现实.

这样的电脑控制缝纫机必须精确地将布料针＆QUOT下，用针＆QUOT缝合;并认真跟踪传递线程＆mdash;工作通常与人类的手和视力进行。成功可能导致自动美国的工厂＆QUOT;生产服装零直接人工，＆QUOT;据6月5日.

颁发由美国国防部高级研究计划局（DARPA）

制作服装裁剪和缝制一个有利可图的美国企业的想法合同史蒂夫·迪克森，创始人Softwear自动化和首席技术官（佐治亚来了收到DARPA最近$ 1.2亿元的资助科技转投资公司）。 [6提示发明家从DARPA项目经理6 Tips for Inventors From a DARPA Program Manager目前美国进口的服装和缝制的项目，每年与mdash约$ 100十亿价值;其中很大一部分来自国家，如中国和越南.

u0026 QUOT;提出的[机器人robotic根据Softwear自动化的网站。 ＆QUOT;世界上只有一个所需的基本创新;该议案的指标不应该是米或英寸，而是线程的填充和经线方向计数和QUOT;

成功可能预示了巨大的破坏为工人机器人继续接管在制造业和其他行业的人的就业机会。低工资工人在发展中国家眼睁睁地失去了最在这种情况下，但美国工人不会得到太多，无论是。尽管如此，美国企业可能再度夺回在服装行业立足，赢回国际贸易中所占的份额.

机器人革命不会就此罢休。迪克森还建议机器人可以返回制造的智能手机，电脑和电视到美国海岸＆mdash;在2011年的机器人起义表示在一封电子邮件中，以标准与技术研究所的想法有可能变成了热量公司如富士康的生产苹果的iPhone和iPad .