ATLANTA — The future of manufacturing is in Atlanta, thanks to a new facility that officially launched at Georgia Tech Thursday.
Channel 2’s Lori Wilson takes us inside the country’s first university-based lab where AI, robotics and automation work together in real time.
“This is what i conceived, but i thought this was going to take 20 years. But we’ve done it in 5,” said Aaron Stebner, a Georgia Tech professor and the advanced manufacturing pilot facility lead.
The facility at Georgia Tech was the brainchild of Stebner.
Leaders cut the ribbon Thursday on what Stebner calls a safe space for anyone in academia, government or business to test their AI.
“This is that place where they can come test it out, see if it breaks. If it does break, fix it, make it better,” he said.
The facility is now 60,000 square feet. Leaders here compare it to an AI playground.
“This is like a new playground that’s going to advance how things are made in the state, in the country,” said Jim Pursley, president and CEO of Factory Automation Systems.
A partnership with the Technical College System in Georgia means students can come in the lab, learn and have pathways into jobs of the future.
“That’s the key to success in terms of manufacturing. Yes, the tech is important, and we’re always advancing it. But it’s also the people that are in the plants that are running it, they’re the ones making money for the company and that’s why they want to come here,” Tom Kurfess, of Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute.
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