Robots have been identified as a potential saviour of Australia's battered manufacturing industry.
A CSIRO white paper to be launched on Wednesday confirms the dramatic decline of manufacturing over the past 12 years, with predictions of another 85,000 jobs to go by 2018.
An analysis of four key sectors - mining, construction, financial services and manufacturing - shows manufacturing went from the highest contributor to gross domestic product in 2000 to the lowest in 2012.
It now contributes four per cent less to GDP than in 2000, while the other three sectors saw rises of up to three per cent.
"The (manufacturing) sector lost more than 100,000 jobs from 2008 to 2012, and is expected to lose another 85,000 in five years," the paper says, citing Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations figures.
But the CSIRO says robots may be one way to revitalise the industry.
And its report insists that high-tech machines will assist workers - not replace them.
"Recent advances in robotics and information and communications technologies (ICT) are leading towards the convergence of close collaboration between worker and robot," it says.
It highlights a number of so-called robotic co-workers and lightweight machines that are already being trialled to help manufacturing firms, and others that are in development.
They include a "virtual headset" called ReMote, which allows workers wearing a pair of high-tech glasses to beam what he or she is seeing to an expert elsewhere.
"The helper is then able to project their hand gestures onto whatever the worker is looking at and virtually show them how to fix an issue or conduct a repair," the CSIRO says.
Other so-called "tele-supervised" robots allow workers to remotely control robots, via the internet, which go into dangerous environments to carry out jobs.
"It's time to leverage this investment and reinvigorate the innovation powerhouse
of the economy, the manufacturing sector," the CSIRO argues.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union is being sought for comment.
AMWU national secretary Paul Bastian says the white paper is an opportunity for greater collaboration between scientists and manufacturers.
"If we're doing the scientific work to develop robotic manufacturing, we need to do the work to make sure we're the world leader in producing this equipment too," he told AAP.
"So far we've only really managed half the battle as there remains a critical need in Australia for a closer collaboration between research, innovation and manufacturing."