What does automation aim to achieve?

Automation aims to enhance productivity and efficiency by integrating technology into various processes. The primary goal is to simplify labor and extend human capabilities, allowing tasks to be performed more quickly and accurately while minimizing the potential for human error. This enables workers to focus on more complex and strategic tasks rather than repetitive or mundane activities.

While the other options mention aspects of automation, they do not capture its full essence. The notion of replacing human workers in all tasks is too extreme, as automation typically seeks to complement human work rather than entirely replace it. Defining the degrees of freedom for robots is more of a technical specification within robotics, rather than a broader aim of automation itself. Similarly, while the application of computers in engineering design relates to technology in general, it does not exclusively align with the broader goals of automation in various industries, which encompass a wider range of applications and benefits.