A new collaborative robot ( pictured ) can work alongside human factory workers . Helpful robots are typically shown as mechanical maids or humanoid teachers in sci-fi films . But now there ’ s a new collaborative robot that can work alongside human factory workers to give them a helping hand . The Fanuc CR-35iA claims to be the first 'heavy-lifting industrial collaborative robot ' to work with humans without the need for safety fences . The Coventry-based company Fanuc 's robot uses integrated vision technology called iRVision to keep an eye on humans and automatically stops if it touches an operator . This removes the need for safety fences - a previous requirement for all industrial robots - and is said to increase efficiency and enable a higher level of automation , the firm claims . The robot can lift objects weighing up to 77 lbs ( 35kg ) and could be used in a number of industries , from warehouses to production lines . For example , it could move heavy objects or assemble parts within a shared workspace without safety fences . ‘ Collaborative robot technology opens up a new era for manufacturing in which humans and robots will work even more closely on tasks ; increasing productivity and efficiencies across the plant floor , ’ said Chris Sumner , vice president of Fanuc . The machine is covered in a green soft plastic cover , which is designed to protect humans and stop them being ‘ pinched ’ in the event they are touched by the robotic arm . Of course , robots have been used on production lines for decades . In the car industry for instance , many are automated so robots perform the bulk of dangerous tasks , such as welding , away from humans . Amazon has already introduced robots to it vast warehouses to work along human employees . The Fanuc CR-35iA claims to be the first 'heavy-lifting industrial collaborative robot ' to work with human employees without the need for safety fences . Images of plans are shown above . Robots have been used on production lines for decades . In the car industry for instance , many are automated so that robots perform the bulk of dangerous tasks , such as welding ( pictured ) , away from humans . Some 15,000 robots pick up items ordered by customers in warehouses to save humans walking miles . The robot can lift up to 77 lbs ( 35kg ) . It 's designed to work alongside humans without the need for safety fences . The robot stops what it 's doing if it touches a human . This is down to integrated vision which lets it 'see ' human employees . It has a protective green covering so it does n't 'pinch ' workers . It 's designed to be as reliable as other robots on production lines and could be used in warehouses to lift heavy objects , for example . ‘ We pick two to three times faster than we used to , ’ 34-year-old Amazon worker Rejinaldo Rosales said during a short break from sorting merchandise into bins at Amazon 's massive distribution centre in Tracy , California , about 60 miles east of San Francisco . ‘ It 's made the job a lot easier. ’ The squat orange robots use technology acquired when the company bought robot-maker Kiva Systems in 2012 , according to Dave Clark , Amazon 's senior vice president for operations . The Tracy centre has 1.2 million square feet of space - the equivalent of 28 football fields – which are tended by 1,500 full-time employees and 3,000 Kiva robots , gliding swiftly and quietly around the warehouse . The robots navigate by scanning coded stickers on the floor , following digital commands that are beamed wirelessly from a central computer . Fanuc 's robot can lift objects weighing up to 77 lbs ( 35kg ) and could be used in a number of industries , from warehouses to production lines . This illustration shows it lifting a wheel into a car ( left ) and it moving a piece to a machine ( pictured right ) Each of the orange machines can slide under and then lift a stack of shelves that 's four feet ( 1.2 metres ) wide and holds up to 750 lbs ( 340kg ) of merchandise . The system uses bar codes to track which items are on each shelf , so a robot can fetch the right shelves for each worker as orders come in . Workers are needed for more complex tasks such as shelving , packing and checking for damaged items and the robots adjust to their speed . Amazon has already introduced robots to it vast warehouses to work along human employees . A Kiva robot is shown moving goods ( left ) and another robot unloading them ( right ) , which is placed in a safety cage . Amazon has launched a competition encouraging engineers to create its next generation of shelf-picking robots . Bots will battle it out at the ICRA conference in Seattle in May . 'The challenge combines object recognition , pose recognition , grasp planning , compliant manipulation , motion planning , task planning , task execution , and error detection and recovery , ' Amazon said . Participating robots will earn points by locating products on shelves , retrieving them and putting them into cardboard boxes ready to be sent to customers . Points will be deducted for dropped or damaged good and the team that creates the winning robot will win $ 26,000 ( £17,463 ) . Amazon currently uses robots by Kiva Systems to fetch items so its human workforces doesn ’ t have to walk as far in its vast warehouses . But its machines ca n't pick and pack products yet .
The robot Coventry was engineered by a company in Fanuc CR-35iA . It is designed to be used alongside humans without safety fences . Uses vision technology to look for humans and stops if it touches them . Could be used in warehouses to lift heavy items up to 77 lbs ( 35kg )