The use of robots in industrial settings continues to grow, driven by the need to address complex societal challenges such as labor shortages, aging populations, and ever-increasing production demands. In this abstract, we advocate for (and demonstrate) a transdisciplinary approach when considering robotics in the workplace. Transdisciplinarity emphasizes the integration of academic research with pragmatic expertise and embodied experiential knowledge, that prioritize values such as worker wellbeing and job attractiveness. In the following, we describe an ongoing multi-pronged effort to explore the potential of collaborative robots in the context of airplane engine repair and maintenance operations.

Incumbents like CBA are increasingly looking to A.I. technology to solve their business problems and are eyeing external tech partners to source those A.I. solutions. But these traditional companies have faced challenges nurturing meaningful collaborations that maximize the support they get from A.I. players. Only 1 in 5 incumbents found the right kind of A.I. player, like H20.ai is for CBA, that offers access to custom technology, as well as support for talent, training, and change management, prompting the incumbent to overhaul its processes. We call these A.I. players that provide such support transformers. For industry incumbents that are able to identify and effectively collaborate with a transformer, the value is clear.