We say that automation is the enemy of workers in factories. Yet, as collaborative robots emerge that respond to workers’ touch, designers have found a way to combine machine computing power with human creative abilities.

Whether in factories, workshops or even in our homes, these intelligent devices are endowed with flexible senses and gestures that create a new merging form of human-machine interaction. They assist workers in difficult tasks and improve their safety and productivity.

Here’s the history of these industrial cobots, and 5 examples of advanced robots models that want to redefine the conditions of human workers.

The History of Cobots

While in the 18’s century weaving machines have automated fabric making, the manual practice of knitting makes today a strange comeback. Knitting enthusiasts, by incorporating robots in their craft, rediscover it under a more creative angle.

What we call collaborative robots (cobots) are especially transforming the practice of knitting, making user and robot crafting together complex weaving patterns. As Pat Treush’s experiment shows, these automation systems inspire humans new ways to practice their craft.

Here’s how the history and future of knitting show how to make human and machine collaborate.

The History of knitting automation

As robots will move into our homes or on our sidewalks, many safety issues will certainly arise. While conducting their missions, they might easily injure users at their command or even simple bystanders.

Yet many dangers of human-machine interaction are invisible, and therefore require long and thorough testing. How then can we prevent dramatic incidents between bots and users?

Robot trainers will become an essential response to this issue in companies, as they will focus on the flaws and errors of robots. Here is why and how they will improve the safety and performance of prototyped robots.

The importance of near-miss incidents

The mission of UX design has always been the same: creating an interface to help users achieve their goal. But how do you create such an interface in interaction with intelligent and ever-evolving robots?

Whether it’s delivery robots or self-driving cars, robot designers will need to create affordances between the human and the machine to enable control and feedback. This means making it possible for users to learn in collaboration with their interface. This challenge is even more complex for users who don’t have the necessary training and are not used to the behavior of smart devices.

Here are some…

There have never been so many intelligent interfaces and automation systems to assist us in our everyday work. From airplanes navigation to patient monitoring systems in hospitals, machines are constantly providing essential feedback.

However, this does not leave us immune to errors (sometimes very serious) coming from the rigidity of the machines or the passivity of the users.

According to Laura Major and Julie Shoh, one of the cause for this is a lack of cooperation between users and their interface. Designers need to think user-machine interactions as a group dynamic, and encourage them to teamwork and help each other…

Have you ever dreamed of using an awesome device from a science-fiction movie (such as the control board from Star Trek) ? Well, you’re not just dreaming, as science fiction has usually been a great source of inspiration for designers.

According to Shedroff Nathan in Make It So, users have often become familiar with new computer interfaces through filmmakers’ imaginary. By subconsciously influencing the evolution of man-machine interactions, fictional designers have made us gradually adopt next-gen products.

Here are 4 examples of futuristic design that might likely be part of our daily life in a not-so-distant future.

The promising role of sonic interfaces

While today’s design movement is based on providing ongoing incentives and rewards, video game designers have always prioritized the user’s motivation and ability to accomplish their goals. They have created game mechanics that encourage them to level up and find internal motivation in the journey.

UX designers have a lot to learn from their work to create products that are less addictive and yet more motivation and rewarding by self-mastery.

Here are 4 examples inspired by video game designers to create products that grow users’ skills and build loyalty to their experience.

Reward-seeking vs skill-acquisition behavior

While our brain performs 1⁸ power calculations per second, today’s supercomputers will be able to handle 10¹⁸ power calculations per second. Does this mean that supercomputers already can simulate brains?

The question is obviously more complex; it depends not only on raw power but also on the collaborative power of the neural networks. However, according to Ray Kurzweil in How to Create a Mind, being able to create a functioning cyber neocortex is an inexorable outcome. Bits can travel infinitely faster than neural signals, and this will be of decisive importance.

Here is how computer scientists see the superiority of…