{
  "meta": {
    "dataset": "MachineWorth use-case records (seed)",
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
  },
  "use_cases": [
    {
      "slug": "material-handling",
      "name": "Material Handling",
      "tagline": "Moving parts, bins, and totes between points A and B.",
      "summary": "The broadest and most-attempted robotic task: picking up an object and putting it somewhere else, repeatedly. Economics hinge on cycle time, reach, payload, and how structured the pick/place points are. The most common starting job for humanoids and mobile manipulators alike.",
      "job_to_be_done": "Reduce the labor spent walking and carrying items across a facility.",
      "economics_driver": "Cycle time and utilization. A robot that is idle half the shift rarely pays back.",
      "example_robots": [
        "agility-digit",
        "apptronik-apollo",
        "figure-02"
      ],
      "industries": [
        "warehousing",
        "logistics",
        "manufacturing"
      ],
      "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
    },
    {
      "slug": "tote-handling",
      "name": "Tote & Bin Handling",
      "tagline": "The single job with the clearest paid-deployment evidence.",
      "summary": "Moving standardized totes on and off conveyors and mobile robots. Because totes are uniform and the task is measurable in units-per-hour, this is where robotic ROI is easiest to prove - and where the strongest evidence (Digit at GXO) exists.",
      "job_to_be_done": "Keep totes flowing between storage, conveyors, and AMRs without human carrying.",
      "economics_driver": "Throughput per hour vs a fully-loaded warehouse wage, at realistic utilization.",
      "example_robots": [
        "agility-digit"
      ],
      "industries": [
        "warehousing",
        "logistics"
      ],
      "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
    },
    {
      "slug": "case-handling",
      "name": "Case Handling & Trailer Unloading",
      "tagline": "A non-humanoid job with mature, commercial robots.",
      "summary": "Unloading boxes from trailers and moving cases is heavy, injury-prone, high-turnover work - and purpose-built machines (not humanoids) already do it commercially. A reminder that the best near-term robot for a job is often not the most humanlike one.",
      "job_to_be_done": "Unload trailers and move cases without human lifting-injury risk.",
      "economics_driver": "Cases per hour and injury/insurance reduction, against a mature system price.",
      "example_robots": [
        "boston-dynamics-stretch"
      ],
      "industries": [
        "warehousing",
        "logistics"
      ],
      "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
    },
    {
      "slug": "machine-tending",
      "name": "Machine Tending & Part Loading",
      "tagline": "Feeding machines that never get tired of waiting.",
      "summary": "Loading and unloading CNCs, presses, and lines. Highly structured and repeatable, which suits robots well - but tight tolerances and cycle-time targets (BMW cited 5mm placement in ~2 seconds) make it demanding. Strong fit where a station runs many identical cycles.",
      "job_to_be_done": "Keep a machine or line fed so it isn't waiting on a human.",
      "economics_driver": "Station uptime and cycle-time reliability; a missed cycle cascades downstream.",
      "example_robots": [
        "figure-02",
        "apptronik-apollo",
        "boston-dynamics-atlas"
      ],
      "industries": [
        "automotive",
        "manufacturing"
      ],
      "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
    },
    {
      "slug": "palletizing",
      "name": "Palletizing & Depalletizing",
      "tagline": "Stacking and unstacking - a classic automation win.",
      "summary": "Building and breaking down pallets. Traditional fixed palletizers already do this cheaply where volume is stable; mobile or humanoid options only make sense where flexibility across many SKUs or locations matters. A good test of 'do you actually need a general-purpose robot here?'",
      "job_to_be_done": "Stack or unstack mixed loads without dedicated fixed automation.",
      "economics_driver": "SKU/location variability. If the job is fixed, a cheaper fixed palletizer usually wins.",
      "example_robots": [
        "apptronik-apollo",
        "agility-digit"
      ],
      "industries": [
        "warehousing",
        "manufacturing",
        "logistics"
      ],
      "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
    },
    {
      "slug": "autonomous-inspection",
      "name": "Autonomous Inspection",
      "tagline": "The mature, profitable, non-humanoid robot economy.",
      "summary": "Robots running defined routes to read gauges and capture thermal/acoustic data in plants and substations. The most commercially proven robotic-labor category in this dataset, with public pricing and a large installed base - and it is quadruped, not humanoid.",
      "job_to_be_done": "Replace risky or tedious manual inspection rounds with repeatable robotic missions.",
      "economics_driver": "Route frequency and the analytics subscription; the software often carries the value.",
      "example_robots": [
        "boston-dynamics-spot"
      ],
      "industries": [
        "utilities",
        "manufacturing"
      ],
      "last_reviewed": "2026-09-04"
    }
  ]
}