Traditionally, working in factories are large, imposing and sectioned off in metal cages as they move heavy loads and perform menial, repetitive tasks.

However, Julie Shah, the Boeing Career Development Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, said robots can be more than they've been in a manufacturing setting. It's time for working more closely with humans, making workers jobs' safer and easier.

Shah, in a statement, said this is especially true in the airplane manufacturing industry.

"If the robot can provide tools and materials so the person doesn't have to walk over to pick up parts and walk back to the plane, you can significantly reduce the idle time of the person," said Shah, who leads the Interactive Robotics Group in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

"It's really hard to make robots do careful refinishing tasks that people do really well. But providing robotic assistants to do the non-value-added work can actually increase the productivity of the overall factory."