A special Wall Street Journal report called Meet the New Robots: Manufacturing, Unleashing Innovation appeared in its own section in today’s WSJ. Lots of good facts, figures and articles to peruse.

“Robots are going to change the economic calculus for manufacturing,” says Hal Sirkin, a Chicago-based senior partner of Boston Consulting Group. “People will spend less time chasing low-cost labor.”

Manufacturing and jobs are a big part of the article as new-tech factory work has begun to look more attractive. One chart shows top and median wages in various types of factories across the country.

Marrying the new technology of smart devices into heavy manufacturing, and blurring the lines between virtual and physical robotics, one article within the section describes how a company connects their workers, machines and parts online at a factory in Germany.

A worthwhile read: http://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-new-generation-of-robots-for-manufacturing-1433300884