This report compares 10 physical automation categories. Each can be disruptive to employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX); organizations shouldn’t force physical automation on either group prematurely. Simply put, humans will play the leading role in when and how a category becomes acceptable. We used a six-stage human adoption model to show how a physical automation category can evolve from unthinkable and creepy to acceptable and popular, then placed categories across a near-term, medium-term, and long-term timeline. Enterprises can use the timeline to review their physical automation investments.