TOKYO Think of industrial robots and you probably picture machines with huge mechanical arms performing precision welds on cars in a shower of sparks, or maybe an unblinking eye scanning a line of computer chips.
But a less-noticed industry where automation is taking off is food processing, and for good reason. The worker shortage in the sector is serious and getting worse. Robotics companies are coming to the rescue with a new generation of machines that can perform the delicate, high-dexterity tasks that previously only human workers could do.
