Rise of the robots: The evolution of Ford's assembly line

So how did the first moving assembly line work?

Around 140 workers were stationed along a 150ft line, while a winch and rope dragged the chassis along.

The process was broken into 84 separate steps, each performed by a different station of workers.

"What was so significant about it, is it really increased the volume they could create cars, and reduce waste," said Bruce Hettle, the company's vice president of North America manufacturing.

"It reduced the cost of the vehicle to a point where it could be afforded by much more people -- so it didn't just change manufacturing, but culture and society at the time."

In this picture, a long line of employees place magnets on Model T flywheels, in 1913.