It is important to note that cognitive aspects and cognitive ergonomics are highly relevant for new digitalized work life. The IFR (Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance) defines four types of collaborative manufacturing applications: (1) Co-existence Cobots: Human and robot work alongside each other, but with no shared workspace, (2) Sequential Collaboration Cobots: Human and robot share all or part of a workspace but do not work on a part or machine at the same time, (3) Co-operation Cobots: Robot and human work on the same part or machine at the same time, and both are in motion and (4) Responsive Collaboration Cobot: The robot responds in real-time to the worker’s motion.

All these types of cobots provide interesting possibilities and challenges for Industry 4.0/Manufacturing 4.0 activities. Are we ready to face these challenges?