ABB Group, the Swiss technology company, is in the final stages of commissioning its new USD150 million robotics factory in Shanghai, and the facility is expected to be operational within the next few months, said a senior executive. It will be the most advanced, automated, and flexible factory in the robotics industry worldwide – a center where robots make robots, said Sami Atiya, president of ABB robotics and discrete automation. “The new facility will also host an onsite research and development center, which will help accelerate innovations in artificial intelligence, and an open innovation hub where we will collaborate with customers to co-develop tailor-made automation solutions,” he said. Under the ABB plan, the new factory will deliver high-end manufacturing solutions for Asia and part of the group’s comprehensive value chain in China: from research to sales and services. “Robotics can bridge labor and skills shortages, while giving companies a greater degree of flexibility. We have seen much of the current demand for automation coming from new sectors and companies that previously hadn’t considered it,” said Atiya.