Factory workers should not fear for their jobs, but instead expect to be joined by robot co-workers if an EU project is successful.

Dubbed the Symbiotic Human Robot Collaborative Assembly, the project is working to develop robots that can collaborate with human workers and easily switch tasks without needing extensive time offline for reprogramming, one of the biggest problems with current-gen factory bots.

It is hoped that the result will be more efficient and affordable businesses – allowing European companies to compete worldwide – that also protect human jobs.

“In Europe, we have to compete by innovation – by new ways of doing things that reduce costs,” said Lihui Wang, professor of Production Engineering and chair of Sustainable Manufacturing at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology, which is leading the project.

“The idea behind this project is to put people and robots together – it guarantees employment, improves efficiency and makes the production system more robust and flexible.”

One of the core aims to the €6.5m ($8.2m) project is to make it possible for robots to work in a “fenceless environment” with humans.

This would mean they would work alongside human workers, performing tasks such as heavy lifting, and would be both aware of the presence of the humans and able to ensure their safety.

Such an approach represents a marked change from the current use of robots in factories, where robots and humans are segregated and largely do not interact.

“Currently, robots do one thing and humans another,” said Wang. “They are physically separated and it takes a long time to predetermine the operation.”

By mixing humans and robots, it is hoped that the result will be a more efficient approach than could be achieved with either group on their own.

“We will combine the accuracy of robots with the flexibility of human beings, so they can work together more efficiently and productively,” added Wang.

As part of the project, newly developed robotic technology will be tested in a variety of factories, meaning these robotic co-workers could be a reality for some Europeans very shortly.

Three factories have been identified at present for the project: a food packaging plant in Stuttgart, Germany, a factory making aeronautic components in Spain and the factory responsible for construction Volvo car engines in Sweden.

It is hoped that the project will boost the image of factory work in Europe, where it is often regarded as dirty and unappealing by young people.

However, while the project’s aims are admirable, it is hard to see why robots wouldn’t eventually take over all factory jobs once they became suitable advanced.

Clearly in the short to medium term robots will require human assistance, but there will ultimately come a day where humans are the less efficient choice, and it is hard to see businesses opting to keep them if robots are a more cost-effective option.

Featured image: screenshot from Futurama. Inline image one courtesy of Lihui Wang/KTH Royal Institute of Technology, image two courtesy of el frijole.