Looking at the top level of complexity in robotics you can see the devices that perform tasks likeassembly of products. Consistency and repeatability are high virtues of these devices. Tooling thatis at the end of the arm of this devices has the ability to be very precise in placement of pieces intheir proper places. These can make minor adjustment in their work to meet the needs of puttingproducts together correctly. Since it is the job of robotics to optimize the work in the production environment, it is important todefine what tasks can best be done by robotics and what task should be best left to humanaccomplishment. If two tasks in manufacturing are very similar in characteristic, it is much easierto let a robotic move into the new operation, if it similar to an operation that the robotics hasperformed earlier. The less similar two jobs are the more likely that a human could make an easiertransition to the new task. Human abilities accumulate over a lifetime, while the robotic has to starta new task from zero experience and will require extensive training to accomplish it. Robotics donot have any inherent characteristics like humans do. Some humans will better at some tasksrather than other tasks, while different robotics begin a given task from the same starting point thathas zero knowledge or ability. In deciding whether a human or a robot should do a certain manufacturing task there are certainpossibilities that might help to guide you to a decision. If the task is too complicated for a robot toperform within economic reason, then the task should be left to a human to do. A robot would winthe chance to perform a task if the job was too dangerous for a human to do, or space or otherspecial considerations come into play. If a robot can generate lower cost, better quality, betterconsistency, or other positives then the robot would win the job. There are definite decisions that you must make when you are deciding to put a robotic to work inthe place of a human. Even the possibility of labor shortage would be a reason for putting a roboticto work. John Mitchell, the author of this article, is President of Provision, Inc, an online publisher ofinformation about the uses of automation in manufacturing. The company website,http://www.provinc.net, allows companies to submit requests for quotation to automationspecialists. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_F_Mitchell,_Jr ==== ====