Pros
The ability to work with collaborative robotics, helping to integrate them into existing and new automation equipment, and helping develop new robotics applications.
Cons
Poor leadership. Top management lacks good communication with the Innovations (robotics) Team. The CEO of the company demands that his ideas be implemented without question, and verbally attacks anyone who disagrees with him, no matter how logical and solid their disagreement with the idea is. Direction of focus changes from day-to-day; sometimes hour-to-hour. First new applications are demanded, then supporting existing applications becomes the focus. Anyone spending time in the Robotics Lab attempting to develop new applications or new tooling is quickly told to get 'out on the floor' to provide support for the robots already working. The Robotics & Automation Specialist position is supposed to be for designing the new tooling and applications, NOT constantly supporting the robots on the production floor. Time and again, the Team is asked to put on a "Dog and Pony Show" for the "ownership", during which EVERY robot is put on the production floor doing any task so that when the owners of the company walk through, they are 'impressed' with how many of the robots are being put to use. The reality is that on a normal production day, an average of 3 to 5 robots are being utilized.