Robots and other automation technologies have greatly increased productivity in today's factories. However, they still have one major limitation: They require people to tell them what to do.

TOKYO—Kawasaki Heavy Industries has unveiled a new collaborative robot that uses artificial intelligence to copy the expert motions of people.

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI—Fanuc, one of the world’s largest makers of industrial robots, is working with Nvidia, a Silicon Valley chipmaker that specializes in artificial intelligence, to add learning capabilities to its products.