Mechanical Door Repairers

Mechanical door repair is still very hands-on. We found almost no robots or AI actually installing or fixing doors today. In fact, even academic robot teams note that “opening a door is a tremendous challenge” for machines ^[1].

Tasks like winding a heavy spring, stacking a door into place, drilling precise holes or running wiring all require human skill and judgment. What does help is smarter tools for people, not robots. For example, some repair shops use augmented reality headsets or tablets that show wiring diagrams and allow remote experts to assist.

In one story, AR tools helped truck technicians do diagnostic work 75% faster ^[2] – but the human mechanic still had to turn the wrench. Likewise, most paperwork is now on tablets or work-order software, which makes scheduling easier but doesn’t replace the tech on site. In short, we didn’t find any AI that fully does a door-repair task by itself.

Instead, technology today mostly augments workers (giving them better info and planning) rather than automating the core door-adjustment and repair work ^{[1] [2]}.

Why is AI slow to show up here? One reason is cost: a trained door technician earns about $21.88 per hour (around $45,500 per year) ^[3]. Building or buying a special robot or AI system to do this job would cost far more.

For example, one company spent ~$22,000 on ten advanced wearable AR headsets to help service techs ^[2] – that’s like buying expensive gadgets when a human tech can do multiple jobs cheaply. Also, mechanical door work happens in many places (homes, stores, factories) and each job can be different. There are few off-the-shelf machines for this.

In big businesses, companies might use software (even AI scheduling or chatbots) to plan service routes and handle calls, but the actual fixing of springs and bolts is hard to automate. Finally, safety and trust matter: a mis-adjusted door spring can hurt someone, so customers and regulators prefer human specialists for now. Overall, the economics and nature of the work mean AI adoption will probably be gradual.

On the bright side, this also means human skills stay valuable – being good with customers, solving surprises, and learning new tech will keep door repairers in demand ^{[3] [2]}.