A method of programming a robot for operation in a robot manufacturing facility, for example for automobile manufacture, comprises firstly, establishing sets of design data including data relating to dimensions and relative positions of parts of a robot, positions of a robot base and of product handling and transporting equipment in a manufacturing cell and design data relating to dimensions and positions of parts of the proposed product, and secondly establishing a robot program by processing that data. The robot program established comprises data and instructions for movement of defined parts of the robot for manufacturing or assembly tasks to be carried out by the robot in that manufacturing cell. The method further comprises, thirdly, operating a virtual model of the robot in a virtual model of the manufacturing cell to check operability and fourthly, after such adjustment as may be necessary to secure operability at the virtual level, operating the corresponding real robot in the corresponding real cell. The real robot and/or manufacturing cell incorporates beams for sensing the real positions of the operative part or parts of the real robot in relation to the real workpiece or product, supported by the real product handling or transporting equipment. At this stage, the method further comprises determining corrections required to bring the operative part or parts of the robot into the desired positions with respect to the real workpiece supported by the real product handling and transporting equipment in the cell, and applying these corrections to the design data originally processed to establish a revised program for controlling the real robot in the real cell.