| Summary: | This article presents a case study on the participation of activity-centered ergonomics researchers in a collaborative robot development research project. This empirical contribution is grounded in and framed by theoretical aspects relating to models of cooperation in a worker-robot system and to activity-centered ergonomics proposals relating to design project management. We therefore discuss: (1) the model of cooperation which is actually reified in the technology. Given the current potentialities of the technology, this model deals more with coordination than with cooperation, as it does not support dynamic management of the interdependence between worker-robot tasks; (2) the contributions and limits of the dual project management approach set up in the research consortium and in a factory. We stress that participation of ergonomists proved to be a necessary condition for designing a technology that potentially “preserves” health and performance; however, this participation was in no way sufficient as it did not support the future socio-organisational use of the technology. We conclude by highlighting ongoing research issues that focus on the aforementioned point by investigating decision-making processes relating to transitions towards a “Factory of the future” and to their supports, from political and historical-cultural perspectives.
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