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AnonTechie [soylentnews.org] writes:

Mercedes hired humans to replace robots on the production line of its plant in Sindelfingen, Germany. When it comes to assembling highly-customized autos, robotic workers can't yet match the dexterity and decision-making abilities of real people.

Chalk up a win for humanity. In spite of futurists’ predictions that automation will slowly replace most people’s jobs, there are still plenty of jobs at which robots are no match for humans. And one of those jobs, as it turns out, is assembling customized Mercedes S-Class sedans.

It’s not that robots aren’t hard workers, or that they aren’t reliable on the assembly line. Robots are particularly good at performing predefined tasks over and over again, and have been widely used in the auto industry since the 1940s, when Ford introduced autonomous machines onto its assembly line.

But robots aren’t good at customizing parts and making decisions on the assembly line, which is why Mercedes decided to hire more skilled human workers to staff its plant in Sindelfingen, Germany.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/0226/Mercedes-replaces-robots-with-humans-on-the-production-line [csmonitor.com]

[Also Covered By]:

Mercedes Boots Robots From the Production Line [bloomberg.com]

Mercedes replaces robots with people on its assembly line [engadget.com]

Mercedes-Benz swaps robots for people on its assembly lines [theguardian.com]

Humans – 1 Robots – 0: Mercedes deautomates production lines [theregister.co.uk]

Original Submission