Symphony of humans and machines or "Modern Times"? - IEEE Future Directions

Robots are becoming a ubiquitous presence in factories and warehouses. There are not just "more" robots, they are requiring and establishing a different relationship with human beings, actually I should say with their "co-workers". This is a step in the direction foreseen by the Symbiotic Autonomous Systems Initiative (now merged with the Digital Reality Initiative) with a trend towards a symbioses of humans and machines (take a look at the White Papers published). Nicknamed Chuck, they have been designed by 6 River Systems to cooperate with humans. Chuck follows a human (it can spot the human through tags worn by the worker) and "gives a hand" when needed.