Meet your robot colleague: The advance of collaborative robotics

Workplaces where humans labor side by side with robots and other automation systems will become more common in the years ahead, and one of the trends fueling these types of environments is the advancement of collaborative robotics. There are some things that machines are simply better at doing than humans, but humans still have plenty going for them. Here's a look at how the two are going to work in concert to deliver a more powerful future for IT, and the human race. With collaborative robot applications, humans and robots can occupy the same workspace at the same time while the system is in automatic mode, said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the umbrella association for Robotic Industries Association, Advancing Vision Imaging and Motion Control & Motor Association. Among the biggest considerations in the industry is ensuring the safety of the people working alongside robots.