Anthropomorphic Design of Human-Robot Interaction in Assembly Cells

Abstract

The objective of ergonomic systems design is to design the interaction between humans and machines in such a way that productivity, efficiency and humanity would not contradict each other. Hence, the human has to be considered as an integral part of the system. To use the full potential of this concept the system has to be accepted as a co-worker by the human. Anthropomorphism is an approach that is used in different areas to improve the acceptance of non-human entities as team-partners. The study within this work focuses on the effects of anthropomorphism in industrial environments. A virtual environment consisting of a robotized assembly cell was developed to conduct the experimental study. In order to simulate anthropomorphic movements, human pick and place movements were acquired using an infrared motion capture system. The data were used to drive the model of a virtual assembly robot. Within the experiment both anthropomorphic and constant speed profiles were compared. The main task of the participants was to predict the movement’s destination as accurately and quickly as possible. The reaction time and the prediction accuracy were analyzed to investigate the influence of anthropomorphic robot movements on human prediction in industrial environments. The results show that anthropomorphic movements lead to faster reaction times without more prediction errors.

Keywords: Self-optimizing production systems, Anthropomorphism, Human-Robot Interaction

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100456