The transformation of manual workstations with collabo-rative robotics: the workers' perceptions

Abstract

The human factors constitute the focal point of the future Industry 5.0. The introduction of novel technologies (as collaborative robotics) in real-industry scenarios brings challenges related to the acceptance and confidence by the human-workers. The main goal of the current paper is to share the workers’ perceptions about robotics, during a real experience developed in a manufac-turing industry. Regarding assess the workers’ perceptions (n = 14 assembly workers), a questionnaire was developed and applied. The elaboration of this questionnaire was based on the bibliographic review of previous studies, and the main topics are the following: (i) workers characterization; (ii) robotics impact in occupational context; (iii) traditional robotics vs. traditional robot-ics; (iv) requirements that could compromise the HRC implementation. The results highlighted the importance of the workers’ involvement during a pro-cess of HRC introduction in a real-industry context, foreseeing a successful implementation with a safety feeling by the workers.

Keywords: Ergonomics, Human Factors, Collaborative Robotics

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001171