A recent issue of ENR contained an article, Robot Arm Points to Steel Fabrication Future, about robot arms being used for structural steel fabrication (ENR 9/27 p. 17). The senior welding engineer, Brad Shaw, said, the idea is to make [fabrication of] steel structures more competitive.
I don't know where Mr. Shaw practices steel fabrication but, in the markets in which I practice as a steel detailer, if it gets any more competitive, Ill have to pay the client to work for him.