Research, select, or apply sensors, communication technologies, or control devices for motion control, position sensing, pressure sensing, or electronic communication.

“Research, select, or apply sensors, communication technologies, or control devices for motion control, position sensing, pressure sensing, or electronic communication.” is a core task performed by Mechatronics Engineers. Among the occupation's 23 rated tasks, workers place it 17th by importance (#7 most important). About 75% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Research technology designs or applications. in Getting Information
• Select materials or equipment for operations or projects. in Making Decisions and Solving Problems

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T1.

How AI is actually used on this kind of task

The Anthropic Economic Index observes how people actually use AI on tasks like this one across millions of real conversations.

• 0.006% share of AI-use records mapped to this task
• Most common interaction: learning
• Average autonomy of the AI: 3.6 (1–5; higher = more autonomous)
• 86% of interactions still needed a human in the loop

Observed AI use describes people choosing to use AI as a tool on this kind of task today. It is augmentation and assistance, not a measure of jobs replaced.

Working with AI vs. handing it off

Of the AI conversations mapped to this task, the split between people working alongside AI and people delegating the task to it.

How people interact with AI on this task

Other tasks in this occupation

• Create mechanical design documents for parts, assemblies, or finished products. · importance 4.2
• Design advanced precision equipment for accurate or controlled applications. · importance 4.0
• Design engineering systems for the automation of industrial tasks. · importance 3.9
• Implement or test design solutions. · importance 3.8
• Maintain technical project files. · importance 3.8
• Identify materials appropriate for mechatronic system designs. · importance 3.8
• Apply mechatronic or automated solutions to the transfer of materials, components, or finished goods. · importance 3.6
• Develop electronic, mechanical, or computerized processes to perform tasks in dangerous situations, such as underwater exploration or extraterrestrial mining. · importance 3.6
• Provide consultation or training on topics such as mechatronics or automated control. · importance 3.6
• Oversee the work of contractors in accordance with project requirements. · importance 3.6
• Publish engineering reports documenting design details or qualification test results. · importance 3.6
• Upgrade the design of existing devices by adding mechatronic elements. · importance 3.5
• Create mechanical models to simulate mechatronic design concepts. · importance 3.5
• Analyze existing development or manufacturing procedures and suggest improvements. · importance 3.5

See all tasks on the Mechatronics Engineers page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-16471,
  title  = {Research, select, or apply sensors, communication technologies, or control devices for motion control, position sensing, pressure sensing, or electronic communication.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-16471}
}