The present generation of factory robots is akin to early mainframe computers in offices, reckons Rodney Brooks, a co-founder of iRobot, an American firm whose products include the Roomba, a robotic vacuum-cleaner, as well as military robots.

ECONOMIST: Automation

Another interesting play is FuelCell Energy (nasdaq: FCEL - news - people ), whose main business is fuel cells for stationary power generation, such as in a factory or large building.

FORBES: Fueling Speculation

Chrysler is currently adding 1, 100 jobs at its Toledo, Ohio, Jeep factory to prepare for the launch of the next-generation Jeep Liberty.

FORBES: Memo To Mitt Romney: Building Jeeps In China Is Good For America

As a second-generation oilman, Zhang began working in 1990 for the First Machinery Factory of Huabei Petroleum Administration Bureau, a state oil subsidiary.

FORBES: Add Oil! Chinese Drill-Pipe Maker Ventures Into The Middle East

But the Mapalad farmers, and many others of their generation, say they aren't sufficiently educated to work in a factory.

CNN: INSIDE STORY: PHILIPPINES

Finally, Brough found Marco Gambassi, 44, a third-generation cobbler interested in taking small projects after selling his family's factory in Tuscany to Gucci.

FORBES: Magazine Article

After boosting pay to compete with other manufacturers, factory owners are finding money alone no longer is enough to attract and retain a generation of workers that demand a greater work-life balance than their parents did.

WSJ: China Factories Try Karaoke, Speed Dating to Keep Workers

To help everyone from factory workers to astronauts carry out more complicated tasks, NASA and other agencies will support research into next-generation robotics.

WHITEHOUSE: A Renaissance in American Manufacturing