FELICE addresses one of the greatest challenges in robotics, i.e. that of coordinated interaction and combination of human and robot skills. The proposal targets the application priority area of agile production and aspires to design the next generation assembly processes required to effectively address current and pressing needs in manufacturing. To this end, it envisages adaptive workspaces and a cognitive robot collaborating with workers in assembly lines. FELICE unites multidisciplinary research in collaborative robotics, AI, computer vision, IoT, machine learning, data analytics, cyber-physical systems, process optimization and ergonomics to deliver a modular platform that integrates and harmonizes an array of autonomous and cognitive technologies in order to increase the agility and productivity of a manual assembly production system, ensure the safety and improve the physical and mental well-being of factory workers. The key to achieve these goals is to develop technologies that will combine the accuracy and endurance of robots with the cognitive ability and flexibility of humans. Being inherently more adaptive and configurable, such technologies will support future manufacturing assembly floors to become agile, allowing them to respond in a timely manner to customer needs and market changes.