AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Robotics Technicians?

Task-level automation exposure for Robotics Technicians: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

33% weighted task index

22 of 22 tasks scored

Median Salary

$73,900 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

15,520 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+2.6% employment change

1,400 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 40 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$47,440 – $119,320

Highest medians

New Mexico $119,320

North Dakota $82,820

Maine $82,510

Nevada $82,010

Connecticut $81,860

Lowest medians

Indiana $47,440

Texas $54,460

New Jersey $60,040

Minnesota $61,670

Michigan $62,460

State figures come from the 17-3024 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 33%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 45%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 18%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 11%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 45/100 Moderate

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

22 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 14%

3 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 38%

9 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 48%

10 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#21059 · Core · 11% automatable

Make repairs to robots or peripheral equipment, such as replacement of defective circuit boards, sensors, controllers, encoders, or servomotors.

physical manipulation — Hands-on electronic equipment repair

Assemble equipment or components. Maintain electromechanical equipment. Repair electronic equipment.

#16589 · Core · 55% automatable

Troubleshoot robotic systems, using knowledge of microprocessors, programmable controllers, electronics, circuit analysis, mechanics, sensor or feedback systems, hydraulics, or pneumatics.

decision support — Root-cause hypotheses; human verifies in the field

Determine causes of operational problems or failures.

#16593 · Core · 25% automatable

Install, program, or repair programmable controllers, robot controllers, end-of-arm tools, or conveyors.

physical manipulation — Robot programming requires physical calibration and testing

Program robotic equipment. Maintain electromechanical equipment.

#16579 · Core · 75% automatable

Maintain service records of robotic equipment or automated production systems.

data analysis — Maintain records systems; human owns integrity

Maintain operational records or records systems.

#16584 · Core · 40% automatable

Modify computer-controlled robot movements.

physical manipulation — Robot programming requires physical calibration and testing

Program robotic equipment.

#16592 · Core · 10% automatable

Perform preventive or corrective maintenance on robotic systems or components.

physical manipulation — Hands-on electromechanical maintenance

Maintain electromechanical equipment.

#16588 · Core · 5% automatable

Align, fit, or assemble components, using hand tools, power tools, fixtures, templates, or microscopes.

physical manipulation — Assembling components is physical hands-on work

Assemble equipment or components.

#16586 · Core · 5% automatable

Attach wires between controllers.

physical manipulation — Assembling components is physical hands-on work

Assemble equipment or components.

#19684 · Core · 39% automatable

Evaluate the efficiency and reliability of industrial robotic systems, reprogramming or calibrating to achieve maximum quantity and quality.

data analysis — Equipment specs analysis aided; physical testing human

Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems. Calibrate scientific or technical equipment. Program robotic equipment.

#16591 · Core · 30% automatable

Test performance of robotic assemblies, using instruments such as oscilloscopes, electronic voltmeters, or bridges.

data analysis — AI interprets results; human runs physical tests

Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment.

#16576 · Core · 40% automatable

Train customers or other personnel to install, use, or maintain robots.

interpersonal — Operational procedure training needs live demonstration

Train personnel on proper operational procedures.

#16596 · Core · 5% automatable

Build or assemble robotic devices or systems.

physical manipulation — Assembling components is physical hands-on work

Assemble equipment or components.

#16581 · Core · 80% automatable

Document robotics test procedures and results.

text generation — Document test results from provided data

Prepare procedural documents. Document design or operational test results.

#16587 · Core · 45% automatable

Assist engineers in the design, configuration, or application of robotic systems.

decision support — AI drafts electromechanical designs; engineer verifies

Design electromechanical equipment or systems.

#16594 · Core · 8% automatable

Install new robotic systems in stationary positions or on tracks.

physical manipulation — Production equipment installation is physical trade work

Install production equipment or systems.

#16577 · Supplemental · 40% automatable

Program complex robotic systems, such as vision systems.

physical manipulation — Robot programming requires physical calibration and testing

Program robotic equipment.

#16585 · Supplemental · 40% automatable

Develop robotic path motions to maximize efficiency, safety, and quality.

physical manipulation — Robot programming requires physical calibration and testing

Program robotic equipment.

#16580 · Supplemental · 12% automatable

Fabricate housings, jigs, fittings, or fixtures, using metalworking machines.

physical manipulation — Machine tool operation is hands-on skilled work

Fabricate products or components using machine tools.

#16590 · Supplemental · 40% automatable

Train robots, using artificial intelligence software or interactive training techniques, to perform simple or complex tasks, such as designing and carrying out a series of iterative tests of chemical samples.

physical manipulation — Robot programming requires physical calibration and testing

Program robotic equipment.

#16583 · Supplemental · 22% automatable

Inspect installation sites.

visual inspection — Physical site verification against specs is human

Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.

#21060 · Supplemental · 70% automatable

Maintain inventories of robotic production supplies, such as sensors or cables.

data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable

Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.

#16582 · Supplemental · 55% automatable

Develop three-dimensional simulations of automation systems.

text generation — Drafting diagrams aided; engineering validity needs human

Create graphical representations of industrial production systems.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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