“Jidoka” is a new one to me. TRI (Toyota Research Institute) CEO Gill Pratt described the concept as “Automation with a Human Touch.” The anglicized version of the notion is “Autonomation” — both are modified forms of “ automation,” in their respective languages. The word was originally applied to Toyota’s Production System, highlighting the need for human participation in the process.
Quoting from Toyota here:
Employing Jidoka principles throughout the production process is a vital element of the Toyota Production System, forcing imperfections to be immediately addressed by self-inspecting workers and thereby reducing the amount of work added to a defective product. Some automated machines can also function in the detection process, allowing human operatives to only be engaged when alerted to a problem.
It’s a nice sentiment — a kind of harmony between robo...
