## Abstract In this study, we investigated applications for a continuum robotic manipulator in a manufacturing setting. Continuum manipulators are robotic devices that have a continuous backbone structure instead of a discrete number of rigid links as found in the majority of robotic manipulators. Continuum manipulators have an infinite number of degrees of freedom, which make them naturally compliant and thus may be safer when operating in collaboration with humans than the rigid alternatives. The literature on continuum robots contains examples of a variety of applications such as surgery, search and rescue, and maintenance and inspection. However, few examples are found of applications within manufacturing. For this study, we visited a collection of regional manufacturing companies and observed the use of light, manual assembly operations in each manufacturing environment. Light, manual assembly operations were selected due to the low payload capacity of continuum robots and the strength of these devices in collaborative settings. These observations are used to better quantify the design specifications and constraints that must be determined in order to develop continuum robots for use in a collaborative manufacturing operation.