Computers will play a larger role in factories
of the future. Increasing computing power will allow for greater
automation. This will reduce the number of jobs available, but people
will always be needed. The amount of tasks done by computer will
continue to increase.
The second change will be in the ability of control.
The machines in a factory will be able to be controlled remotely by computer.
This ability will extend to making repairs and putting upgrades into the
machines. A technician on another continent will be able to work
on a machine thousands of miles away.
The most revolutionary idea for the future of factories
is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the concept of assembling things
on an atom basis. Individual atom would be combined to form microscopic
objects. The greatest problems with it aren't related to computers,
but the increased processing power will lead to a greater chance of its
successful implementation. Computers may allow us to assemble objects
atom by atom, and if this does occur, the world will be radically changed.
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