Technological evolution in the field of robotics is emerging with major breakthroughs in recent years. This was especially fostered by revolutionary new software applications leading to humanoid robots. Humanoids are being envisioned for manufacturing applications to form human-robot teams. But their implication in manufacturing practices especially for industrial safety standards and lean manufacturing practices have been minimally addressed. Humanoids will also be competing with conventional robotic arms and effective methods to assess their return on investment are needed. To study the next generation of industrial automation, we used the case context of the Tesla humanoid robot. The company has recently unveiled its project on an intelligent humanoid robot named Optimus to achieve an increased level of manufacturing automation. This article proposes a framework to integrate humanoids for manufacturing automation and also presents the significance of safety standards of human-robot collaboration. A case of lean assembly cell for the manufacturing of an open-source medical ventilator was used for human-humanoid automation. Simulation results indicate that humanoids can increase the level of manufacturing automation. Managerial and research implications are presented.

A McKinsey report from Michael Chui, James Manyika, and Mehdi Miremadi looked at the detailed work activities of more than 800 occupations across 54 countries to study the technical potential for automation and found that almost half of work activities globally could be automated using current technology. However, just because something can be automated doesn't mean it will be. The cost of developing and deploying the hardware and software for automation must be considered, as well as the supply-and-demand dynamics of labor. Other factors include the relative superiority of automation, and regulatory and social acceptance of automation for any particular task or occupation. Jobs that are most vulnerable to automation are highly structured tasks in predictable environments.

The robots will someday take our jobs. But not all our jobs, and we don't really know how many. Nor do we understand which jobs will be eliminated and which will be transitioned into what some say will be better, less tedious work. What we do know is that automation and artificial intelligence will affect Americans unevenly, according to data from McKinsey and the 2016 US Census that was analyzed by the Brookings think tank. Young people -- especially those in rural areas or who are underrepresented minorities -- will have a greater likelihood of having their jobs replaced by automation.

Whatever you look artificial intelligence is present. In order to get a handle on how and where this technology, and automation in general, will impact U.S. workers, the Brookings Institute analyzed data in a variety of industries, geographies, and demographic groups across the country. "The next phase of automation, increasingly involving AI, seems like it should be manageable in the aggregate labor market, though there are many sources of uncertainty," said Mark Muro, senior fellow and lead author of the report. "With that said, the potential effects will vary significantly across occupations, regions, and demographic groups, which means that policymakers, industry, and society as a whole needs to focus much more than they are on ensuring the coming transitions will work for all of those affected." The report, titled Automation and Artificial Intelligence: How machines are affecting people and places, concluded that by 2030, some 25% of U.S. employment will have experienced high exposure to automation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Midwestern states hit hardest by job automation in recent decades, places that were pivotal to U.S. President Donald Trump's election, will be under the most pressure again as advances in artificial intelligence reshape the workplace, according to a new study by Brookings Institution researchers. The spread of computer-driven technology into middle-wage jobs like trucking, construction, and office work, and some lower-skilled occupations like food preparation and service, will also further divide the fast-growing cities where skilled workers are moving and other areas, and separate the high- skilled workers whose jobs are less prone to automation from everyone else regardless of location, the study found. But the pain may be most intense in a familiar group of manufacturing-heavy states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa, whose support swung the U.S. electoral college for Trump, a Republican, and which have among the largest share of jobs, around 27 percent, at "high risk" of further automation in coming years. At the other end, solidly Democratic coastal states like New York and Maryland had only about a fifth of jobs in the high-risk category. The findings suggest the economic tensions that framed Trump's election may well persist, and may even be immune to his efforts to shift global trade policy in favor of U.S. manufacturers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Midwestern states hit hardest by job automation in recent decades, places that were pivotal to U.S. President Donald Trump's election, will be under the most pressure again as advances in artificial intelligence reshape the workplace, according to a new study by Brookings Institution researchers. The spread of computer-driven technology into middle-wage jobs like trucking, construction, and office work, and some lower-skilled occupations like food preparation and service, will also further divide the fast-growing cities where skilled workers are moving and other areas, and separate the high- skilled workers whose jobs are less prone to automation from everyone else regardless of location, the study found. But the pain may be most intense in a familiar group of manufacturing-heavy states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa, whose support swung the U.S. electoral college for Trump, a Republican, and which have among the largest share of jobs, around 27 percent, at "high risk" of further automation in coming years. At the other end, solidly Democratic coastal states like New York and Maryland had only about a fifth of jobs in the high-risk category. The findings suggest the economic tensions that framed Trump's election may well persist, and may even be immune to his efforts to shift global trade policy in favor of U.S. manufacturers.

James Manyika and Jacques Bughin are directors of the McKinsey Global Institute, and Michael Chui is an MGI partner; Mehdi Miremadi is a partner in McKinsey's Chicago office, Katy George is a senior partner in the New Jersey office, and Paul Willmott and Martin Dewhurst are senior partners in the London office.

Automation is coming to the workplace. Millions of jobs will be destroyed, but many jobs will also be simultaneously created in the process as well. For those in the workforce – or for those just joining it for the first time – the big question is: what skills are needed to navigate this monumental shift in the economy? How will humans create value in an increasingly automated world? Today's infographic comes to us from Guthrie Jensen, and it summarizes the skills needed in 2020 and beyond to take advantage of the shifting landscape of work. In short, for those looking to future proof their careers, building competencies in areas that machines will be unlikely to tackle effectively (i.e.

Automation is coming to the workplace. Millions of jobs will be destroyed, but many jobs will also be simultaneously created in the process as well. For those in the workforce – or for those just joining it for the first time – the big question is: what skills are needed to navigate this monumental shift in the economy? How will humans create value in an increasingly automated world? Today's infographic comes to us from Guthrie Jensen, and it summarizes the skills needed in 2020 and beyond to take advantage of the shifting landscape of work. In short, for those looking to future proof their careers, building competencies in areas that machines will be unlikely to tackle effectively (i.e.

President Emmanuel Macron together with many Silicon Valley CEOs will kick off the VivaTech conference in Paris this week with the aim of showcasing the "good" side of technology. Our research highlights some of those benefits, especially the productivity growth and performance gains that automation and artificial intelligence can bring to the economy -- and to society more broadly, if these technologies are used to tackle major issues such as fighting disease and tackling climate change. But we also note some critical challenges that need to be overcome. To see just how big those shifts could be, our latest research analyzed skill requirements for individual work activities in more than 800 occupations to examine the number of hours that the workforce spends on 25 core skills today. We then estimated the extent to which these skill requirements could change by 2030, as automation and artificial technologies are deployed in the workplace, and backed up our findings with a detailed survey of more than 3,000 business leaders in seven countries, who largely confirmed our quantitative findings.