Robotics Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 22% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 26% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 74% of the time, stays with people.
Build, install, test, or maintain robotic equipment or related automated production systems.
$73,900 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on9 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet2 h
- Stays with people29 h
Robotics Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 9 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 2 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 29 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Assist engineers in the design, configuration, or application of robotic systems (about 3 h); Develop robotic path motions to maximize efficiency, safety, and quality (about 2 h); Modify computer-controlled robot movements (about 2 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 26%
- 0%
- 74%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 8%. Today's estimate: 22%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 22 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.028% to 0.024% (released February and March 2025); 0.0089% to 0.017% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.028% | 383 of 708 | 6 of 22 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.024% | 392 of 703 | 5 of 22 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0089% | 469 of 655 | 1 of 22 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.021% | 381 of 672 | 5 of 22 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.017% | 425 of 677 | 3 of 22 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 22 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 78% of this job's working time as physical work. For 15% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell. 0.15 of 3, the 479th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 23%
- No robot shown 63%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Install, program, or repair programmable controllers, robot controllers, end-of-arm tools, or conveyors.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Align, fit, or assemble components, using hand tools, power tools, fixtures, templates, or microscopes.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Assist engineers in the design, configuration, or application of robotic systems.Done yearly or less by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | 71%Half by now | |
| Evaluate the efficiency and reliability of industrial robotic systems, reprogramming or calibrating to achieve maximum quantity and quality.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Renishaw RCS P-series robot probing system (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Troubleshoot robotic systems, using knowledge of microprocessors, programmable controllers, electronics, circuit analysis, mechanics, sensor or feedback systems, hydraulics, or pneumatics.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Mujin robot controller / Mujin OS (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Develop robotic path motions to maximize efficiency, safety, and quality.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | 98%Half by now | |
| Test performance of robotic assemblies, using instruments such as oscilloscopes, electronic voltmeters, or bridges.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, SPEA flying probe testers (4060 S2 / 4080) with SPEA Board Handling Equipment (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Build or assemble robotic devices or systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Perform preventive or corrective maintenance on robotic systems or components.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Make repairs to robots or peripheral equipment, such as replacement of defective circuit boards, sensors, controllers, encoders, or servomotors.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Modify computer-controlled robot movements.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians39% now, 48% by 2028
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians37% now, 55% by 2028
- Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians20% now, 26% by 2028
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians35% now, 53% by 2028
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians10% now, 21% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment26% now, 32% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services2,240 people
- Scientific Research and Development Services1,630 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)1,590 people
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing690 people
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing690 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Robotics Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 22% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 26% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Robotics Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Assist engineers in the design, configuration, or application of robotic systems (71% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Develop robotic path motions to maximize efficiency, safety, and quality (98% of the task's time now); and Modify computer-controlled robot movements (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Robotics Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Install, program, or repair programmable controllers, robot controllers, end-of-arm tools, or conveyors; Align, fit, or assemble components, using hand tools, power tools, fixtures, templates, or microscopes; and Evaluate the efficiency and reliability of industrial robotic systems, reprogramming or calibrating to achieve maximum quantity and quality. Together such tasks are about 74% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Robotics Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Robotics Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 78% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 15% of the working time. Its index is 0.15 of 3. One example: Renishaw RCS P-series robot probing system for "evaluate the efficiency and reliability of industrial robotic systems, reprogramming or calibrating to achieve maximum quantity and quality". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 22 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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