Accelerated by increasing globalization, manufacturing is in a constant race for productivity and efficiency. One way to bring down costs, while maintaining a high level of quality, is fully automated production, which is commonly claimed to be the future of manufacturing. But automation, in many cases, is neither easy nor profitable due to the complex nature of tasks, the need to transfer knowledge that is difficult to express or extract, and the current insufficient capabilities of automation. In addition, production employees say a large part of the tasks  are still dull, dirty and even dangerous.  Will manufacturing companies invest in  ICT-enabled production tools to augment the capabilities of their production employees –  making them smarter, swifter  and safer? If taking what some call the Industry 5.0 track, what tools are most rewarding for manufacturers to invest in, and what manufacturing segments are taking the lead? Is wireless connectivity important for these tools?  Is full automation a separate and competing track for manufacturers to take? What will the future of manufacturing  look like, and how will manufacturing  jobs change? These are some of the questions this report sets out to answer.