Outlook on human-centric manufacturing towards Industry 5.0

Human-robot interaction (HRI) promises to be a means whereby manufacturing companies will be able to address current challenges like a higher demand for customization. However, despite comparably low costs, there are only few applications in practice. To date, it remains unclear which factors facilitate or hinder the successful introduction of industrial collaborative robots (cobots). In a three-step approach, we first developed a comprehensive two-dimensional framework covering three separate phases and four essential components for human-robot working systems. Secondly, we reviewed related literature to identify relevant success factors. Thirdly, in an online survey we asked leading representatives of German manufacturing companies (n = 81) to assess the importance of these factors from a practical point of view. The results reveal that besides technology-related factors like occupational safety and appropriate cobot configuration, employee-centered factors like the fear of job loss and ensuring an appropriate level of trust in the robot are considered important. However, company representatives seem to underestimate the impact of subtle measures to increase employee acceptance which could be incorporated into internal communication strategies prior to and during the introduction of cobots. Comparative analysis based on three distinct application scenarios suggests that most success factors’ practical importance is independent of the motivation for implementing HRI. Furthermore, answers from practitioners in free-text fields reveal that success factors which intuitively come to their mind such as financial factors are not necessarily perceived most important. Finally, we argue for more application-oriented research that focuses on practically relevant factors to guide HRI research, inform cobot development, and support companies in overcoming apparent barriers.

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Success factors for introducing industrial human-robot interaction in practice: an empirically driven framework

Operations management issues in design and control of hybrid human-robot collaborative manufacturing systems: a survey

Collaborative robots have lately been extremely relevant to the domain of production and manufacturing industry after the arrival of Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0 (IR 4.0). Collaborative robots have evolved as one of the key drivers in Industry 4.0 and they have advanced substantially within the last couple of decades. In comparison to the industrial robots, collaborative robots offer increased productivity, flexibility, versatility and safety. Collaborative robots are designed to execute tasks alongside the human workforce while sharing the same working space as colleagues, offering greater mobility and flexibility. Collaborative robots allow for a physical interaction with humans in a shared workspace to execute production, manufacturing and assembly tasks. These machines are designed to be reprogrammed easily, even by personnel without any programming background. Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) between humans and collaborative robots provides promising methods to achieve increased productivity with reduced production costs by combining the decision-making ability of humans along with the repeatability and strength of robots. This article reviews the significance of the collaborative robots today and also presents an insight into their future potential.

Collaborative Robots and Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0)

This paper provides an overview of the role of humans and robots in smart factories, their connection to Industry 4.0, and which progress they make when it comes to related technologies. The current study shows that a decade was not enough to provide a reference implementation or application of Industry 4.0, like smart factories. In 2011, Industry 4.0 was mentioned for the first time in the scientific community. Industry 4.0 arrived with many new enabling technologies and buzzwords, e.g., Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), and Digital Twins (DT). This paper first defines smart factories and smart manufacturing in relation to the role of humans and robots. Followed by an overview of selected technologies in smart factories. Concluded by future prospects and its’ relation to smart manufacturing.

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Trends in Smart Manufacturing: Role of Humans and Industrial Robots in Smart Factories

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-6581/8/4/100/pdf

Human–Robot Collaboration in Manufacturing Applications: A Review

Collaborative robots (cobots) are important components of the Industry 4.0 paradigm and smart manufacturing. Cobots are known for their ability to interact with the operators in a shared workspace....

Deploying cobots in collaborative systems: major considerations and productivity analysis

Collaborative assembly systems (CAS) are an increasingly important solution to the requests of the current market since they present the flexibility and dexterity of the human operator and the repeatability of the robot. For a CAS to be effective, both agents should carry out the tasks in the workspace without any physical interference. This paper aims to evaluate how the product characteristics influence the interference between the human operator and the robot. To reach the goal, we developed an algorithm that simulates product assembly in the considered workspace. The model also allowed to estimate the makespan achievable for different scenarios, showing a reduction, and thus an increase in the throughput. The makespan depends on several variables, related to the product characteristics and the process ones. Given specific conditions, we have observed that increasing the collaboration parameter from 21.06 to 48.98% led to a reduction in the makespan of about 20%. Lastly, the results obtained by the simulation were verified through a validation test, showing an error of − 2.39%.

The influence of the product characteristics on human-robot collaboration: a model for the performance of collaborative robotic assembly

In the last decade, collaborative assembly systems (CAS) are becoming increasingly common due to their ability to merge the flexibility of a manual assembly system with the performance of traditional robotics. Technical constraints, e.g., dedicated tools or resources, or performance requirements, e.g., throughput, could encourage the use of a CAS built around a multi-robot and multi-operator layout, i.e., with a number of resources greater than 2. Starting from the development of a prototype multi-robot multi-operator collaborative workcell, a simulation environment was developed to evaluate the makespan and the degree of collaboration in multi-robot multi-operator CAS. From the simulation environment, a mathematical model was conceptualized. The presented model allows estimating, with a certain degree of accuracy, the performances of the system. The results have investigated how several process characteristics, i.e. the number and type of resources, the resources layout, the task allocation method, and the number of feeding devices, influence the degree of collaboration between the resources. Lastly, the authors propose a compact analytic formulation, based on an exponential function, and define the methods and the influence factors to determine its parameters.

/pdf/multi-robot-multi-operator-collaborative-assembly-systems-a-3mp5jfs3rz.pdf

Multi-robot multi-operator collaborative assembly systems: a performance evaluation model

Abstract Collaborative robots are increasingly common in modern production systems, since they allow to merge the productivity of automated systems with the flexibility and dexterity of manual ones. The direct interaction between the human and the robot can be the greatest advantage and the greatest limit of collaborative systems at the same time, depending on how it affects human factors like ergonomics and mental stress. This work presents an overview of collaborative robotics considering three main dimensions: robot features, modern production systems characteristics and human factors. A literature review on how such dimensions interact is addressed and a discussion on the current state of the art is presented, showing the topics that have been already widely explored and the research gaps that should be fulfilled in the future. 

/pdf/human-factors-in-cobot-era-a-review-of-modern-production-ehjo9a44.pdf

Riccardo Minto

Papers

Human–Robot Collaboration in Manufacturing Applications: A Review

Deploying cobots in collaborative systems: major considerations and productivity analysis

The influence of the product characteristics on human-robot collaboration: a model for the performance of collaborative robotic assembly

Multi-robot multi-operator collaborative assembly systems: a performance evaluation model

Human factors in cobot era: a review of modern production systems features