I would say that reproducing high human reliability is called engineering. It took a long time for machines to reach the precision needed to pull that off and there are still areas where it is difficult. The last example that I read about was brick-laying.
Masonry seemed like the perfect candidate for mechanization, but a hundred years of limited success suggests there’s some aspect to it that prevents a machine from easily doing it. This makes it an interesting case study, as it helps define exactly where mechanization becomes difficult—what makes laying a brick so different than, say, hammering a nail, such that the latter is almost completely mechanized and the former is almost completely manual?
I would say that reproducing high human reliability is called engineering. It took a long time for machines to reach the precision needed to pull that off and there are still areas where it is difficult. The last example that I read about was brick-laying.
I’m guessing you’re referring to Brian Potter’s post Where Are The Robotic Bricklayers?, which to me is a great example of reality being surprisingly detailed. Quoting Brian:
Yes, that one! Thanks for finding and quoting.