The human-centered design of workplaces has always been a core topic of ergonomics and one of the IAD's main areas of research. The interaction between automated systems and humans, including direct cooperation and collaboration between machines and humans, has become even more important as a result of the “Industry 5.0” initiative. The European Union identifies the development of adaptive automation systems and collaborative robots as core technologies for the human-centered production of the future. As part of several research projects, the IAD has developed a series of demonstrators to explore the effects of such systems in interaction with users.
A promising approach to reducing physical stress and strain caused by work activities is the individualization of the workplace, tailoring it to the specific needs and characteristics of the individual. Adaptive systems can automate such adjustments. The IAD is researching the design and effects of such adaptive workstations using two demonstrators.
Among other things, it has been investigated how the operating modes of an adaptive workstation for the assembly of small components – with automated adjustments of table height and the distance of the material provision level – impact user acceptance.
With the mobile, battery-powered adaptive workstation demonstrator of the EU-project FELICE, the IAD is researching the effect of adaptive positioning of large work objects on the posture of users as well as the influence of an adaptive lighting system on the work environment. Particularly in the automotive and aerospace industries, the assembly of large work objects, depending on the individual's body measurements, can lead to forced body postures such as overhead work and working in a strongly bent posture. The adaptive system adjusts the position of the work object to the respective work step and the individual body dimensions of the user, enabling work tasks to be performed in an ergonomic posture. Through developed user interfaces, users retain control over the automated system and can manually readjust settings. This demonstrator aims to explore the potential of adaptive systems to reduce physical stress and strain while considering assembly performance and to develop design recommendations based on these findings.
Additionally, the IAD has a collaborative robot workstation featuring a Sawyer robot from Rethink Robotics for researching the effects of human-robot interaction in manual assembly. One of the areas of research conducted by the IAD focused on the human-related impacts of human autonomy on planning and action levels within human-robot cooperation.
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