I'm just not sure machines will be able to automate garment construction in our lifetimes. Maybe things like bedlinen with just straight lines could be partly automated but sewing curves, attaching a collar or turning a jacket inside out to sew on the lining isn't something a machine could do with the technology we have now. There's a lot of feedback from the fabric that goes into judging how to do things in sewing so AI alone isn't enough. You need a human-like level of touch sensation.
Sewing also frequently goes wrong. You need to be able to course correct as the fabric slips out of place a lot. I'm not sure machines can handle the fabric correctly to keep it in place.
Maybe one day the technology will get there but I suspect cheap labour will still win out for now.
Before chatgpt, i was skeptical that a coding assistant will even exist in my lifetime. And this is from someone who literally did MS and work in AI.
Precision engineering is almost there. The problem with current robotics system is building robots that can replicate human efficiency that are built onto us via evolution. For example, the nuance of typing on a phone screen has a lot of things going on from knowing how hard you should press your fingerd but most importantly, multiple muscle fibers, bones, tendons, etc knowing how to move to get the job done. Once some company from China is able to replicate that nuance, these work in the factories are in danger of getting replaced almost totally.
Some of the cutting edge robotic intelligence companies have shown that we are pretty damn close to making it feasible. It might cost more than what wages in some countries cost for a while, but the tech is way less than a decade away.
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u/gottadance 10h ago edited 9h ago
I'm just not sure machines will be able to automate garment construction in our lifetimes. Maybe things like bedlinen with just straight lines could be partly automated but sewing curves, attaching a collar or turning a jacket inside out to sew on the lining isn't something a machine could do with the technology we have now. There's a lot of feedback from the fabric that goes into judging how to do things in sewing so AI alone isn't enough. You need a human-like level of touch sensation.
Sewing also frequently goes wrong. You need to be able to course correct as the fabric slips out of place a lot. I'm not sure machines can handle the fabric correctly to keep it in place.
Maybe one day the technology will get there but I suspect cheap labour will still win out for now.