Manufacturers and fabrication shops: get paid to record assembly and welding work

Can my manufacturing company get paid to record production work?

Yes. With Amelia Robotics, operators and fabricators record the work they already do with a head-mounted phone, hands in frame. Amelia pays the business once a month for approved recordings. Typical pay is $500 to $2,000 a month per recording employee, assuming 12.5 to 50 approved hours a week. Amelia says earnings vary and the agreement decides actual pay.

For other industries and how the program works, see how businesses get paid for recording work.

Source: Amelia Robotics: business program (checked Nov 2026)

Which manufacturing tasks count?

Amelia lists three examples for manufacturing and fabrication:

• Assembly and machine operation: hand assembly, fastening, loading and unloading machines.
• Part trimming and finishing: deburring, trimming flash, sanding, polishing.
• Metal fabrication and welding: cutting, fit-up, tack and finish welds, grinding.

Source: Amelia Robotics: business program (checked Nov 2026)

How much could a manufacturer earn from recordings?

Illustrative maths at the typical rate of $10 per approved hour: people x approved hours a week x 4. Assembly and finishing jobs keep hands busy for most of a shift, so the higher bands are plausible; machine tending with long cycle times will approve fewer hours.

Amelia's split example pays 50% to the worker, 10% to the lead and 40% to the business. You can set a different split for each cell or shift.

What should a manufacturer agree before recording?

Start with intellectual property. Customer drawings, part numbers and proprietary fixtures show up in close-up footage. Check NDAs and customer contracts, and agree on the setup call which parts, programs and areas are excluded. Defense or export-controlled work should stay out entirely unless your compliance team approves it.

Then safety. A mount must sit securely with safety glasses, face shields and hearing protection, and must never pull attention near pinch points or rotating equipment. Welding helmets, arc light and spatter make head-mounted phones awkward, so agree a setup for welding on the call. For people: get written agreement from every operator. Some states also set rules for watching staff electronically. Connecticut, for example, requires prior written notice to employees and counts cameras as electronic monitoring (Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 31-48d).

• No recording of machine screens showing customer programs.
• Keep lockout and guarding procedures exactly as they are.
• Exclude quality records and customer audit areas unless agreed.

Source: Connecticut General Statutes, chapter 557 (sec. 31-48d, electronic monitoring of employees)

Why do robotics companies want factory footage?

Factories are where robots already work, but mostly on fixed, repetitive jobs. The next step is varied hand work. CNN reports that the data company Labellerr AI began collecting first-person videos from workers at manufacturing facilities in India, and that Micro1's head of robotics data put manufacturing first on his list of places this data is needed (CNN).

Instawork built its wearable camera system for real commercial settings including light manufacturing (Instawork). US shops with skilled fabricators and a wide mix of parts offer variety that buyers find hard to source. See manufacturing robots for what is already on the floor.

Source: CNN via Scripps News: How filming your chores could train the android butlers of the future

How does a manufacturer get started?

Apply in four questions, agree tasks and requirements on a setup call, get activated, then invite your operators. Prepare:

• Headcount by line or cell, with hands-on hours per week.
• A list of excluded parts, customers and areas.
• Phones and head mounts that work with your PPE. Amelia's setup guidance says the business buys one mount per person.
• A split plan per shift or cell.

Next step

Compare with carpentry and furniture workshops, or estimate your floor on the physical AI hub.