Sometime in the next couple of years, if everything goes to plan, workers at BMWs manufacturing plant in Spartan-burg, South Carolina, will be introduced to an unusual new teammate-a robot arm that will roll around handing them tools and parts as they assemble the German carmaker's luxury vehicles. Once isolated behind safety fences, robots have already become safe and smart enough to work alongside people on a few manufacturing production lines. By taking over tiresome and repetitive tasks, these robots are replacing some people. But in many situations they are augmenting the abilities of human workers-freeing them to do tasks that require manual dexterity and ingenuity rather than extreme precision and stamina. These robots are also increasing productivity for manufacturers and giving them new flexibility.
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