The argument is that Unitree's assembly process is currently very manual because there is no incentive to automate, which is because labor cost isn't the bottleneck here, where in the US labor cost are much higher, therefore the US will have incentive to automate more. Those are reasonable so far, until you try to use that as a conclusion that this is why the West will win?
First of all, what does he think the other 92% of the cost of manufacturing is? A small portion of that is materials and electricity, but the biggest part of the remaining cost is assembly tooling/fixtures for the assembly line, and a fully automated assembly line is much, much more expensive compared to a semi-automated or manual production line.
In other words: it's not that Unitree couldn't build fully automated assembly lines if they wanted to, but spending tens of millions of dollars fully automated assembly line that takes up floor space and requires even more labor for manual maintenance for a product that is only being produced by the hundreds to thousands in quantity every month rather than millions simply does not make economic sense to begin with.
Second, why is he assuming that a fully automated assembly line will be cheaper to build in the US than in China, especially since he toured a factory with fully automated assembly lines at BYD in China immediately after? And sure, I would absolutely argue that American software engineering is more efficient than Chinese when looked at as a whole, but the cost of programming an assembly line is a minor portion of the cost compared to actually getting the assembly line fixtures and tooling built.
Third, his cost estimate is way off if he thinks you can get the same product manufactured in the US for only 50% more. From my own anecdotal experience, a more realistic cost for US manufacturing for pretty much anything is minimum 300% to 1000% more expensive if you are to make the in the US, and the lack of a mature parts supply chain in the US is honestly a bigger issue than worker wage.
[–] ramgine 1 day ago
[–] nirui 1 day ago
If instead just creating few of the tools, Destin pushed to create $1T worth of it, then maybe the supplychain will automatically build around it.
If China's labor cost risen to the level that makes Unitree robots more appealing, then Unitree will figure out ways to automate their production line more to keep up with the demand.
All and all, it's not a capability problem, it's a "why do it, and why now" problem. Just like, say, sending people to Mars. The tech is already here, but why send people to a planet that (currently) don't even have enough stuff needed to support living? Except of course, Mars will probably stay this way much longer than a country changing course.
Also, just a sidenote: I think Destin misread the market. He wanted to create a "high-quality", "durable" product. Sure, it make sense to do it most of the time, but a brush? You know, that thing gets dirty in an dark and oily way very quickly. With a durable brush that's expensive to replace, then you have will a problem of maintenance, clean it etc. And grill oil is not easy to clean, do you now also have to buy another product just to maintain the brush? How about now I offer you a cheap made in China brush that will disintegrate in your hands after 5 times of use, but then you just throw it away and get a new one, no maintenance required. Of course, throwing away too many trash is bad for the environment, but guess how the other trash gets handled, including, say, toothbrush?
How about, invent a grill that don't need to be brushed? Just a rinse and it's done? Just a Smarter way to think about inventing, you know.
[–] YuechenLi 1 day ago
If I were to design it to be manufactured in the states, I would probably go for a simple wooden handle with off the shelf wire mesh instead of chainmail, and the fastening would just be mechanical fit between wrapped wire and handle with no additional fastener, which should massively improve price and manufacturability.
[–] forgotusername6 1 day ago