Human Aspects of Advanced Manufacturing

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

Human Aspects of Advanced Manufacturing

book-cover

Editors: Waldemar Karwowski, Stefan Trzcielinski

Topics: Advanced Manufacturing

Publication Date: 2023

ISBN: 978-1-958651-56-8

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003502

Articles

Breaking the barriers: multilingual user engagement to increase process engagement and technology acceptance in manufacturing

With the start of Industry 5.0, there is greater emphasis on increased workforce sustainability. Manufacturing among other industries realised the economic importance not only of increased production efficiency, but the positive impact physical and psychological workforce wellbeing has on the company. The current paper presents a three-step approach of engaging multicultural end users for robotic technology introduction in the manufacturing where language dependent knowledge capture is challenging. The first step is video analysis of the process to determine which human factors might be key contributors to the existing processes. The second proposed step is process observation while the operators wear eye tracking glasses combined with several questions for the process clarification. This step allows to determine decision making points and visual attention sequence. Finally, a focus group conducted with small group of representative operators. The paper will introduce the use cases and protocol to achieve a two-fold aim: (i) feedback to the technology developers and engineers, the user critical aspects of the existing aspects, and (ii) to increase user acceptance and engagement with the developing technology/processes. The user acceptance and engagement with the final solution is expected to be improved due to the proposed three step engagement program delivered at the start of the project.

Iveta Eimontaite, Sarah Fletcher, Krystian Goławski, Tomasz Kołcon

Conference Proceedings

Communication components for Human Intention Prediction – A Survey

In this review we address the communication components for human intention prediction for Human-robot collaboration (HRC). The HRC is the approach in which human and robot(s) work towards achieving the same goal. The interaction can be both levels physical and cognitive. The traditional settings of the HRC system provides fixed robot program based on waypoints or gestures. It is difficult to predefine the instructions of the situation in complex and variable environment. The understanding of human intention on dynamic basis is crucial for the success of such systems. The core character of co-existence of human and the robot is to understand the dynamic scenes of human intentions. To understand the human intention there is need to understand the components of intention communication. This paper provides comprehensive overview about the understanding the intention as communication components and modelling those components by using machine learning technology in HRC. Multiple ways of communicating intention are possible by using speech, action, gesture, haptic, physiological signals, etc. The article details various approaches to understand the human intention communication aspect particularly in the Human Robot Collaboration setting.

Fahad Khan, Seemal Asif, Phil Webb

Conference Proceedings

Human-centric research of skills and decision-making capacity in fashion garment manufacturing to support robotic design tool development

This paper examines the findings of research combining Human Factors methods with Fashion Design Practice Research to identify existing skills levels of UK sewing machinists, assessing the interest in integrating robotic tooling into low-volume high-value fashion design workflows to help an upskilling and onshoring agenda for UK SME fashion manufacturing. Despite its international reputation for creative design and contributing £32.3 billion to the UK economy (Oxford Economics, 2018), the UK’s fashion industry's levels of automation are much lower than other sectors. Amongst young people who might enter the industry a lack of interest in manufacturing, anxieties about modern-day slavery, poor working conditions, precarity in the jobs market, low levels of pay and training are exacerbating the situation. The challenges of integrating automation, robotics and engineering into a highly creative UK fashion sector with a need for very high levels of agility in micro-production processes can be addressed through joint research from Human Factors and design-led research. This project explored skills levels in garment manufacturing, to inform the steps in research of new tooling concerned with identifying tasks that can be performed by robots, or those needing to remain performed by skilled human makers - importantly identifying requirements for promoting worker satisfaction via new technology and automation. The research evidences sewing machinists’ need for better work fulfilment and personal reward. Currently, the UK fashion manufacturing sector lacks systems that support the application of transferable skills to rejuvenate the jobs market with opportunities that can inspire and entice a young workforce to enter what could be a dynamic field. In a mixed methods study, researchers used questionnaires, desk research, eye-tracking and heart-rate monitoring to evidence cognitive decision-making and tacit/tactile knowledge of sewing machinists. Participants of the questionnaire and eye-tracking trials stressed a sense of reward as one of the main drivers for fulfilment during a sewing project. Investigating the development of new tooling in the context of creatively rewarding activity is therefore a critical next step in design research with Human Factors. This study has delivered perspectives on ways to increase collaboration capability between social science and fashion design research to innovate within manufacturing processes amidst a growing skills shortage in the UK. This tightly limited scope study has been an ideal way of demonstrating the value in this area of research as a platform for a larger collaborative piece of work in the future with a focus on co-investigating, with micro and SME fashion design and robotics businesses, what kind of small-scale tools might need to be designed to enable new forms of on-shored production, leading naturally to a new design aesthetic. These cobot systems could support decision-making for fabrication sequencing. There is already potential for interactive robots to be mobile on desktops as well as self-assembling swarms - concepts that can help to address further development aims for garment manufacturing.

Kat Thiel, Susan Postlethwaite

Conference Proceedings

Where are we at? A review of the advances in the ethical aspects of human-robot collaboration

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) is revolutionising the future of manufacturing and service industries. Ethical research on HRC regards all issues of safeguarding humans from unintended and potentially unethical risks and hazards associated with collaborative robots (also known as “cobots”). Within the CoBots domain, the term Roboethics has been coined to refer to the social and ethical aspects of the design, development, and employment of collaborative and intelligent robots, which could be clustered in four typologies: (1) robots as machines; (2) robots may have an intrinsic ethical dimension and be able to trigger emotions and feelings from users; (3) robots are seen as moral agents; (4) robots are an evolution of a new species, having a conscience and greater intellectual dimensions. This paper aims to provide a review of the available literature in the field to map the ethical aspects and concerns that are discussed in the HRC domain, taking into account the above Roboethics typologies. The paper will conclude outlining an agenda for future ethical research in HRC, specifically where current gaps emerge.

Tiziana Callari, Anne-Marie Oostveen, Ella-Mae Hubbard, Sarah Fletcher, Niels Lohse

Conference Proceedings

Co-Creation-Based Framework for the Agile Development of AI-Supported CAM Systems

Digital transformation processes in the course of industry 4.0 affect computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) in two ways: The acceleration of production and innovation cycles shortens the time to carry out CAM-planning tasks; simultaneously, an increasing product individualization raises the complexity of CAM-planning tasks and quality requirements for the planning results. Thus, CAM users need to solve complex CAM-planning tasks in increasingly shorter time frames. Efforts to meet the quality requirements nonetheless lead to overload and frustration of the user [1], [2]. To overcome this challenge, the R&D project CAM2030 aims to develop a new generation of CAM systems that integrates innovative technologies (artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and evolutionary algorithms) to make CAM-planning processes more efficient for the CAM planner. The innovation process requires a novel methodology that involves the stakeholders’ different perspectives, esp. the users’ preferences and needs, and brings them into compliance. This paper presents a co-creation-based framework for the agile development of AI-supported system components. The framework intends to continuously support the innovation process of complex software systems in a highly interdisciplinary team working collaboratively under remote conditions. The framework was developed successively in line with the project’s progress over two years. The resulting framework describes a multi-level and partly iterative approach that covers the following stages of the innovation process: (i) the elicitation, specification, and prioritization of requirements for AI-supported CAM systems, their user interface, and CAM user training; (ii) the design of an interactive prototype for selected parts of the user interface; (iii) the prototype testing; and (iv) the iteration of (i) to (iii) as well as the refinement of their output. The approach applies and adapts co-creation methods for use in online workshops. The research activities focused on the development, implementation, and evaluation of the single workshop concepts, partly complemented by studies investigating topics such as user expectations and requirements concerning new features and the system introduction. The main characteristics of the workshops are their interdisciplinary composition of participants, their conduction under remote conditions, and the mix of methods and tools to support collaboration in each stage of the innovation process [3], [4].The framework application shows a high potential to support the development of AI-supported CAM systems in creating a shared vision of the individual stages of the innovation and the innovation process as a whole. The framework helps to: (i) understand and reflect the user’s needs and preferences, (ii) align different and partly controversial perspectives, and (iii) identify and overcome sticking points of the system development. The project shows that the innovation and development process benefits from the active involvement of end users (workers and companies), the continuity of interdisciplinary exchange, and iterative testing. Limitations arise from the restricted application scope of the framework (innovating automated CAM system components for the CAM parameter optimization by well-educated CAM planners in German SMEs). Future research should consider the reconciliation of innovation processes with day-to-day business in manufacturing companies and the framework’s transferability to other application contexts. Acknowledgments: This research and development project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the “Innovations for Tomorrow’s Production, Services, and Work” Program (funding number: 02J19B081) and implemented by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA). The authors are responsible for the content of this publication.References:[1] Hehenberger, P. (2020). Computerunterstützte Produktion: Eine kompakte Einführung. Berlin: Springer.[2] Jakobs, E.-M., Digmayer, C., Vogelsang, S. and Servos, M. (2017). Not Ready for Industry 4.0: Usability of CAx Systems. In: Ahram, T. and Falcão, C., eds Advances in Usability and User Experience. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 607th ed. Cham: Springer, pp.51-62. [3] Piller, F. T., Ihl, C. and Vossen, A. (2010). A typology of customer co-creation in the innovation process. SSRN Electronic Journal, 4. [4] Rußkamp, N., Digmayer, C., Jakobs, E., Burgert, F., Schirmer, M., Niewöhner, S. (2022). New ways to design next-generation CAM systems. An integrated approach of co-creation and process modeling. In: Waldemar Karwowski and Stefan Trzcielinski (eds) Human Aspects of Advanced Manufacturing. AHFE (2022) International Conference. AHFE Open Access, vol 66. AHFE International, USA. http://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1002682

Nina Rußkamp, Claas Digmayer, Eva-Maria Jakobs

Conference Proceedings

Life cycle opportunity based on implementation of Quality Management Systems

Mico and macro environment creates opportunities and threats for the organization. Enterprise identifies the opportunities to take advantage for the business either intentionally or unintentionally. Organization which focused on taking advantage from the opportunities increase the chance of taking advantage of them. Opportunity is understood as a favorable situation for the subject of action. The ability to use the opportunity creates a framework for establishing cooperation between the company and the client. `The article presents a theoretical and practical approach to the opportunity. The theoretical part presents the idea of the opportunity, meaning and its importance for the organization. The paper presents life cycle opportunity which creates framework for establishing cooperation between supplier and a client. The practical part shows a case study based on the development and implementation of a Quality Management Systems in a selected organization. The work done for the organization has been assessed by the external certification body. Implementation of Quality Management Systems enabled to establishment a long-term cooperation based on annual action that should be taken according to the selected elements of ISO systems.

Pawel Krolas, Janne Heilala

Conference Proceedings

Opportunity as a common factor of agility and entrepreneurship

The article presents an analysis of the literature on the agility of an enterprise from the point of view of recognition of opportunities, entrepreneurship and chances in a turbulent environment. The different approaches to the concept of opportunity are described and the ideas of enterprise brightness, resource flexibility of enterprises, the concept of enterprise intelligence and shrewdness are presented. The link between the notion of entrepreneurship and innovation has been shown. The concept of innovation was defined and organized. Activities related to creating opportunities in a reactive and proactive manner were discussed. The article presents a case study involving the implementation of a new (innovative) technology. The innovation in the examined company was created as a result of reactive activities. The company research presents implementation the innovative technology and specifies the timeframe for implementation. The length of the opportunity streak was presented and the product and service life cycles were compared. It was shown that the company's reactivity enabled the implementation of the new technology and opened a new range of opportunities consisting in the commencement of training services in the field of the implemented innovation.

Mateusz Chróst

Conference Proceedings

Exoskeletons at work: opportunities, suggestions for implementation and future research needs

Exoskeletons are wearable devices that use mechanical interaction with the body to augment, assist, and enhance physical activity, motion, and body posture. In the last decades, these devices have been extensively studied and applied in motor rehabilitation. More recently, both industrial and academic researchers have been working to explore the effectiveness of exoskeletons in supporting human upper and lower extremities during manual material handling to eliminate or reduce the risk of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs). If on the one hand, the effects for the prevention of WMSDs seem evident, on the other hand, some studies are carefully evaluating the overall impact of exoskeletons on the health and safety of workers. Still, there is limited evidence on the long-term effects of these devices. Hence, more researches are necessary to understand the benefits and the potential opportunities arising from the introduction of exoskeletons in the workplace, as well as the potential limitations and risks that may arise for workers. This paper aims to address these challenges, providing the results of a structured analysis of the scientific literature on occupational exoskeletons. A conceptual framework describes the benefits and the potential limitations of occupational exoskeletons, supporting the safe and effective selection and adoption of these devices in workplaces. The findings in this paper support academic, industrial practitioners, and researchers to understand the opportunities behind the use of exoskeletons, the future research needs, and to predict the benefits and the potential limitations of their implementation in workplaces.

Lucia Botti, Adriano Paolo Bacchetta, Maniva Oliva, Riccardo Melloni

Conference Proceedings

Implementation Strategies for Intelligent Systems to Support Manufacturing Planning: Recommended Actions to Avoid Failure

In many manufacturing enterprises, manufacturing planning for the production of complex components is carried out by using CAM systems (CAM: Computer-Aided Manufacturing) (Bi and Wang, 2020). The increasing complexity and individualization of components, tools and machines lead to new requirements for manufacturing planning and CAM systems (Suhl and Isenberg, 2019; Jayasekara et al., 2019). Providers of CAx systems and researchers are currently working on the further development of conventional support systems by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) applications (e.g. Dripke et al., 2017).AI-based, intelligent support systems are intended to enable employees to perform the increasingly complex process of manufacturing planning quickly and efficiently (cf. Burgert et al., 2022). At the same time, studies in Germany (e.g. Lundborg and Gull, 2021; Merkel-Kiss and von Garrel, 2022) indicate that available AI-based systems are generally rather used with restraint, especially by SMEs, or not used effectively, e.g., due to acceptance issues. Since a successful implementation of these systems requires appropriate strategies (Kletti, 2007; cf. Bellantuono et al., 2021; cf. Kovrigin and Vasiliev, 2020), insufficient implementation strategies could be a reason for the restraint. However, existing implementation strategies within the application context of manufacturing planning do not specifically focus on intelligent support systems, but rather on conventional digital ones in general. This paper addresses the research question of how to design an implementation strategy for intelligent support systems for manufacturing planning to ensure a successful implementation for the long term.First, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify success factors and corresponding recommendations for action in the context of implementation strategies for digital support systems in manufacturing. The recommendations for action were aggregated into 27 recommendations within the categories organization, people, technology, and data. Second, 31 experts with experience in implementing support systems in a corporate context were asked to assess the importance of these recommendations for action for the successful implementation of intelligent support systems for manufacturing planning in an online questionnaire. The questionnaire also included the assignment of the recommendations for action to five phases of a generic implementation model. Additional suggestions based on the participants' own professional experience could be added.In this paper, the methodological approaches and the results of the literature review as well as the empirical study within the context of intelligent support systems for manufacturing planning are presented. The results show, e.g., that most of the recommendations concern the interaction with the employees affected. Furthermore, many of the recommended actions are important for most or even all phases of an implementation process. Finally, the resulting recommendations for action concerning the implementation of intelligent support systems for manufacturing planning and related limitations are discussed.

Florens Burgert, Anton Caspar Boehme, Marisa Schirmer, Niklas Steireif, Susanne Mütze Niewöhner

Conference Proceedings

Human intelligence vs Artificial intelligence in opportunity discovery

Opportunity is a core phenomenon in theories of: strategic management, entrepreneurship and agile enterprise. Usually it is meant as an external situation which favours the enterprise achieving its objectives and goals with accessible resources. Strategists and entrepreneurs search for opportunities to improve the firm’s performance. Some of them do this intuitively when others apply methods of strategic analysis and/or conduct marketing research. The Artificial intelligence particular cognitive computing creates new possibilities to discover opportunities. The aim of this paper is to present a general model of opportunity recognition that applies to all above mentioned approaches. Basing on this model a review of traditional methods of opportunity discovery, exploiting mostly human intelligence, is presented. Next a generic model of Artificial Intelligence aided opportunity discovery is discussed. The article also shows the results of a study of companies' use of traditional opportunity discovery methods and preliminary results of a study of opportunity discovery using artificial intelligence.

Stefan Trzcielinski

Conference Proceedings

Designing the organizational structure of enterprises operating in a highly turbulent environment

The subject of this article is the methodology of designing the organizational structure of the enterprise. The aim of the research is to summarize many years of theoretical and empirical research on the organizational structures of enterprises and the methodology of their design, especially the design of organizational structures of enterprises operating in a turbulent environment. Theoretical research has led to the definition of a multidimensional organizational structure design space (Pawlowski E., 2009). In parallel, this multidimensional concept was used to develop an organizational structure design methodology for Agile Enterprises (Pawlowski E., Pawlowski K., 2008). The next step was to develop a methodology for designing an organizational structure in the context of the Knowledge Based Economy (Pawlowski E. , 2010). In 2015-2016, an empirical study was conducted on the flexibility of the organizational structure of Polish enterprises (Pawlowski E., 2016). In 2018-2020, a methodology for designing organizational structures was developed for the Management Systems of of Intelligent, Autonomous Environment (Pawlowski E. , Pawlowski K. 2020). This article focuses on the design of organizational structures of enterprises operating in a highly changeable, turbulent environment. The methodology is described in a five-dimensional design space: 1. Interpretation of organizational structure, 2. Methodology of organizational structure modeling, 3. Methodological approach to organizational design, 4. Procedures of organizational structure design, 5. Principles of organizational structure design

Edmund Pawlowski

Conference Proceedings

Key Competencies for Circular Manufacturing

The transition towards circular economy represents a major challenge faced by manufacturing companies and society alike. One key enabler of this transition is the availability of a skilled workforce, as new competencies are needed for the adoption and implementation of circular strategies, processes and practices (Jabbour et al., 2019, Bertassini et al., 2021, Marrucci et al., 2021). However, the ‘human side’ of the circular economy and the role of people-driven factors are still underrepresented in the research literature (Mies and Gold, 2021; Walker et al., 2021). The present study aims at contributing to fill this gap and supporting manufacturing stakeholders by identifying and describing key competencies for circular manufacturing.Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the above.mentioned objective, a review of the scientific and grey literature was carried out as first step. Subsequently, key competencies were validated by means of semi-structured interviews with experts from manufacturing companies and academia.Results – Seventeen key circular manufacturing competencies were identified. Technical-managerial competencies refer to those competencies enabling the main processes and activities characterizing circular manufacturing (e.g., Design and management of multiple product-service life cycles, Development and use of digital solutions as an enabling factor for the circular economy, etc.). Transversal competencies are key knowledge, skills and attitudes linked to lifelong learning, creativity, teamwork, taking initiative and responsibility. (Janssens et al., 2021).Originality/value – The present study contributes to ongoing research about circular economy by shedding light on key competencies for circular manufacturing. They can also be useful for practitioners willing to identify the skills required for circular strategies and practices, to update or create new job profiles, to check the competency level of employees and then activate training, counselling and improvement programs to fill the gap.

Marta Pinzone, Marco Taisch

Conference Proceedings

Developing intelligent technologies to support employees in manufacturing planning: applying a scenario planning method to consider future of work

The environment of industrial enterprises is characterized not only by increasing volatility and uncertainty, but also by growing complexity and ambiguity (Ködding and Dumitrescu, 2022; Wonsak et al., 2021). For manufacturing process planning and CAM systems in use (CAM: Computer Aided Manufacturing), new requirements arise as a result of growing complexity and individualization of components, tools, and machines (Suhl and Isenberg, 2019; Jayasekara et al., 2019). In order to overcome these requirements, CAx system providers and researchers are currently developing approaches in technology-driven projects on how conventional support systems can be further developed, e.g., by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) (cf. Dripke et al., 2017). In technology development projects, however, the classic fields of work organization as well as other dimensions at the enterprise and individual level should be taken into account in addition to technology (Mütze-Niewöhner et al., 2022). In order to remain competitive, future developments must be considered by enterprises and systematically addressed in their strategic decisions (Ködding and Dumitrescu, 2022; Fink et al., 2005).This paper presents the application of scenario planning in the context of a technology-driven innovation project. Aim of this project with the acronym CAM2030 is to create a new generation of CAM systems by integrating innovative technologies, such as AI, evolutionary algorithms, and cloud computing in order to enable employees to perform manufacturing process planning for the production of complex products quickly, efficiently, and adeptly (cf. Burgert et al., 2022). To anticipate future developments of the work of CAM users, the scenario planning method by Fink and Siebe (2016) was used. Scenarios take into account that the future of work is open and uncertain, but will take place within a limited range of development possibilities (Burmeister et al., 2019). The intention within CAM2030 was to ensure that estimations of future support needs of CAM users are considered in the technology development activities. Since the scenario planning was tested for the first time in the context of the technology-driven project, the focus of this paper is on the application and discussion of the method. First, it provides a brief introduction to the applied scenario planning method according to Fink and Siebe (2016). Second, the procedure is described and methodological findings are discussed, e.g., to what extent the concept helped to successively guide the participants through scenario planning process. Challenges included, e.g., the involvement of multiple stakeholders, time demands on all participants, and enabling participants to focus on the open and uncertain development of CAM planning work within the technology-driven project. Third, as an outlook, it is reflected to what extent the applied method may support a future strategic decision-making process.

Marisa Schirmer, Florens Burgert, Christina Mayer, Susanne Mütze Niewöhner

Conference Proceedings

How Singapore’s Manufacturing Small and Medium Size Enterprises Embrace Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 adoption is expected to profoundly impact the entire spectrum of industries, especially in manufacturing. By using a confluence of automation, data, and digitalisation, Industry 4.0 aims to radically transform how organisations operate presently while increasing productivity, enhancing flexibility, reducing costs, and improving efficiency. More companies are strategically embracing Industry 4.0 approaches to leverage opportunities arising from newly connected computers and increasingly autonomous automation systems (e.g., robotics), equipped with intelligent machine learning algorithms that control the robotics without much human input. In these 'smart' factories, cyber-physical systems (i.e., independently operating systems that self-optimize and communicate with each other, and ultimately optimize production) monitor the physical manufacturing processes and play an increasingly important role in terms of decision-making. Industry 4.0 signifies three mutually interconnected factors, namely digitisation and integration of any technical-economic networks, digitisation of products and services, and new market models. At the core of this new smart manufacturing paradigm is the Internet of Things that drives the conversion of traditional factories into a 'smart' manufacturing environment called "Industry 4.0", resulting in an increasingly intelligent, connected, and autonomous factory with dynamic capabilities. Smart manufacturing technologies include big data processing, machine learning, advanced robotics, cloud computing, sensors technology, additive manufacturing, and augmented reality. By using predictive big data analytics, deep learning, or sentiment/image analysis, business leaders can identify patterns and trends in vast reams of big data. It allows them to make 'smarter' decisions (e.g., about the loss of customers or the necessary service inspection of equipment) and potentially to become more competitive in real-time. Based on case study research on small manufacturing firms in Singapore, we explore how local SMEs adopt Industry 4.0 solutions. We shed light on the drivers and barriers of Industry 4.0 adoption to better understand current business dynamics, potential human issues, focus areas, and initiatives to smoothen this implementation. The study is part of a wider Industry 4.0 study of key specialists and decision-makers across Government agencies, Institutes of Higher Learnings, suppliers of Industry 4.0 technology, business associations, etc. Technology push by the Government with robust funding and training support, skilled labour shortages including imported labour dependence, productivity issues and the pressure to innovate business models due to increased competition are propelling SMEs to adopt Industry 4.0. Some challenges include high investment costs, ROI concerns as well as capability and mindset issues. The paper contributes to the minimal Asian management literature about Industry 4.0 matters in Asian SMEs.

Thomas Menkhoff, Gopalakrishnan Surianarayanan

Conference Proceedings

'Ergonomic posture assessment and tracking for industrial cyber-physical-human systems: A case study in the heavy metalworking industry

In the context of Industry 5.0, collaborative automation and decision support through ubiquitous digital processing provide a privileged ap-proach to examining the human factor in the industry. At the same time, new technologies that have been under development since the in-ception of Industry 4.0, such as IoT devices, artificial vision systems, image processing algorithms, artificial intelligence, and others, have brought important opportunities to the industry, which has historically based its process transformation and management on a preventive ap-proach that helps improving decision-making. Musculoskeletal disor-ders in industrial working scenarios are often associated with the accu-mulation of stress over time, which can impact the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and other parts of the body. To prevent injuries and complications in the short, medium, or long term, Cyber-Physical-Human Systems (CPHS) can be adopted to correct risky actions of op-erators in real-time. This work presents preliminary results regarding the study, understanding, and identification of operator postures in the heavy metalworking industry. The study was based on the comparison of the commonly used methods for ergonomic posture and movement assessment. The adopted approach takes advantage of computer vi-sion for operator pose identification and tracking to effectively detect the most frequently repeating body postures. The most repeated pos-tures are then categorized according to their ergonomic compatibility. To evaluate the proposed approach, a dataset has been acquired based on the observation of real operator actions. Based on the results, the implemented system enables us to actively evaluate the appropriate-ness of workers' postures in real-time.

Eduardo Pontes, Azin Moradbeikie, Rolando Azevedo, Cristiano Jesus, S Lopes

Conference Proceedings

Trust evaluation of automated vehicles: A systematic review

The rapid development of automated vehicles offers the promising development of driver-vehicle interaction and cooperation. Trust is an important concept to consider for the future implementation of autonomous driving. An inappropriate level of trust can lead drivers to under-trust and reject the system's potential benefits or allow drivers to over-trust and abuse it. Therefore, autonomous vehicles need an appropriate level of trust for drivers to experience the full benefits of autonomous driving. This paper reports a systematic review of the literature to analyse the critical role of trust and also discusses various methods of evaluating the trust between drivers and automated vehicles to promote the use of autonomous driving on the ground.The review surveyed the trust in automated vehicles and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. First, the importance of trust in increasing the acceptance of autonomous driving is investigated. Second, the factors influencing drivers' trust in autonomous driving are grouped and presented. The analysis focuses on individual driver characteristics, automated vehicles and the driving environment, such as driver preference, driving automation system and driving scenarios. Finally, the methodologies to measure trust in autonomous driving are reviewed and analysed. The key measurement indicators include questionnaires, physiological signals such as eye gaze, head and body postures, etc. and psychological signals such as electroencephalogram (EEG).This study is expected to summarise the factors that influence trust and to find reliable and replicable methods to measure trust. The results show that the influence of different factors on trust varies considerably. Currently, questionnaires are the most commonly used subjective measurement method, while psychophysiological measures are a promising objective complement and attract increasing investigations.

Zhilin Hu, Yang Xing, Karl Proctor, Andrew Owens, Yifan Zhao

Conference Proceedings

International Comparison on Obstacles to Service Conversion of Manufacturing Industries

This study is an international comparison of Japan and Scandinavia regarding necessary conditions in manufacturing industries that are undergoing servitization.With the shift of developed economies to services, there has been a noticeable trend toward the shift of manufacturing industries to services. However, Japanese manufacturing industries lack service personnel in all aspects, including service planning, management, and front-line operations, because their operations differ from those of traditional manufacturing industries. The shortage of human resources is a phenomenon, and it is necessary to address the structural issues that prevent the development of human resources. Toya (2016, 2020, 2022) identified the obstacles to Servitization in the Japanese manufacturing industry as: a seed-oriented organizational culture, lack of medium- and long-term evaluation of business and human resources, low mobility of human resources, and, by extension, a lack of the industry structure, and attitudes toward the way they work. At the same time, we have conducted structural and time-series analyses based on large-scale fixed-point survey data on the status of servicization. An international comparison focusing on the unique manufacturing culture of the Japanese manufacturing industry and institutional issues related to human resource development and mobility, as revealed by these previous studies, was necessary.This study quantitatively compares Japan and the Nordic countries in terms of the elements and structures that impede the shift to manufacturing services. Specifically, a survey will be conducted simultaneously with manufacturing management in four Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark) and Japan for comparative analysis. The survey is currently underway and the results and discussion will be presented at a later date.

Keiko Toya

Conference Proceedings

Human Factor Analysis in Robotic and Autonomous Systems for Military Applications

This paper aims to provide a human factor guidance for developing robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) in military applications. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify key aspects to characterise RAS teamed up with human operators, answering the two research questions: i) what the various characteristics of RAS that involve human roles are, and ii) how the characteristics of RAS affect human requirements. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, state-of-the-art researches on RAS are classified based on different characteristics, such as application context, RAS type, level of autonomy, network architecture, operational environment, and interface. Then, the effect of the RAS characteristics on human requirements is analysed by identifying their relationships. Direct relationship is established with respect to the level of autonomy, requiring trust, intelligibility, understandability, and obtrusiveness for human requirements. RAS application context and other characteristics indirectly contribute to different human requirements, by requiring or supporting different levels of autonomy. This study concludes with discussion points to be taken forward, identifies research gaps in current methodologies, and suggests future research directions. Key challenges identified for future research include interactions with human, integration to existing systems, asymmetries in level of autonomy, and validation and verification of different subsystems.

Hae-In Lee, Seokwon Lee, Hyo-Sang Shin, Antonios Tsourdos, Sarah Fletcher

Conference Proceedings

“We don’t need ergonomics anymore, we need psychology!” – the human analysis needed for human-robot collaboration

Human labour has always been essential in manufacturing and, still, no machine or robot can replace innate human complex physical (dexterity) and cognitive (reasoning) skills. Understandably, industry has constantly sought new automation technologies and largely only concerned itself with physical health and safety issues to improve / maintain production processes, but these industrial engineering approaches have largely overshadowed our understanding of wider social and emotional issues that can also significantly impact on human-system performance and wellbeing. In the current climate, industrial automation is rapidly increasing and crucial to manufacturing competitiveness, and requires greater, closer human interaction. Consequently, people’s cognitive-affective abilities have never been more critical and there has never been a more important time to thoroughly understand them. Moreover, industrial engineers are themselves now more aware and interested in understanding how people can better perform tasks in collaboration with intelligent automation and robotics. This paper describes why industry is only now realising the need for psychology, how far research has advanced our knowledge, and how a major UK project is working to develop new human behaviour models to improve effectiveness in the design of human-robot interactions in modern production processes. As one recent anecdotal comment from a UK industrialist set out: “we don’t need ergonomics anymore – our industrial engineers can do that, we need psychology”!

Sarah Fletcher, Iveta Eimontaite, Phil Webb, Niels Lohse

Conference Proceedings

Mathematical Models for the Assessment of the Composite Structures of Cylindrical Floating Elements Level of Performances, Used in Brackish Seas.

The safety of life and navigation in the areas with high risk potential adjacent parts to the coast, the fight against pollution with oil fractions, as well as the protection of marine biodiversity, all represent the central objective of this research action. One of the critical points was to statistically assess and decide the performance level of the composite structures of the modular systems with a cylindrical form, designed for the sustainable development of biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. For this purpose, a database that includes two independent variables related to the physical-mechanical/physical-chemical values of the used raw materials was created. There were considered 1000 values associated to the: i) mass per surface unit; ii) maximum breaking force in the warp; iii) elongation at break in the warp; iv) tearing force in the warp and batting; v) film type. Moreover, 800 values related to the raw material were included for the determination of the length density, resistance and elongation at break, torsion, resistance and elongation at the knot, resistance and elongation at the loop. Descriptive statistics were used for the: a) determination of the parameters that evidence the homogeneity degree of the analysed data; b) assessment of the coefficients of variability that demonstrate the extent to which the data groups are homogeneous or heterogeneous; c) histograms of each variable, which highlight the asymmetry of the distribution, with the predominance of frequencies or variables. The statistical data analysis enabled the prediction of the asymmetries of the data series, related to Skewness and Kurtosis. The links between the considered variables were established according to the values of the correlation coefficients for each of the composite structures studied. The regression equations were developed to express the influence on the resistance to tearing for the transverse/longitudinal system of: mass, resistance and elongation at break of the composite material and resistance to knot breaking of the yarn from composite matrix structure. It was shown that for the prediction of the value of the composite element’s resistance to tearing, the values of this characteristic in the warp should be preferentially considered. In the weft direction, the introduction of additional independent variables is necessary. The two tested variants of composite material were differentiated by the fibrous composition and structure of the reinforcement matrix, for the longitudinal and transversal systems (45//55%PES//PA6.6, ratio: 1:1/100//100 PES//PES, ratio 2:1). Four mathematical models that are approximately normally distributed and follow the cumulative percentage line described by the normal curve were created. The mathematical models demonstrated that, in the design stage, for dynamic conditions (impact factor 2.5), the tear resistance value should be considered in both systems.

Alexandra Gabriela Ene, Carmen Mihai, Constantin Jomir, Mihaela Jomir

Conference Proceedings

Automatic generation technology of dimension chain considering assembly characteristics

Aiming at the deviation transfer path problem in assembly tolerance analysis, a method of automatically searching the assembly dimension chain is proposed, which first uses various types of information units to express the key information required for dimension chain generation, establishes the assembly accuracy information model, constructs the part order constraint association matrix and tolerance feature association matrix on the basis of considering the multiple assembly order and multiple parallel constraints in the actual assembly process, and generate assembly relationship transfer diagram. At the same time, the traditional shortest path algorithm is optimized by using the small root stack structure in combination with the transfer diagram application scenario, and the assembly dimension chain is obtained by local search of the transfer diagram according to the assembly order and the customized constraint selection rules. Based on the Qt application development framework and the OpenCASCADE graphics library, the prototype system is developed and verified, proving that the method can effectively improve the efficiency of the automatic dimensional chain search, and the generated dimensional chains are more consistent with the actual assembly process planning.

Yang Zeng, Xiaojun Liu, Jindan Feng, Jinshan Liu, Yang Yi

Conference Proceedings

Design for the combination of additive manufacturing parts with products already developed – An hybrid design approach

The geometric freedom allowed by additive manufacturing (AM) has driven the development of products based on human-centric design through functional and aesthetic customization. The combination of personalised AM parts with products already developed is a disruptive and flexible approach that may create optimized product-user interactions. For this, critical comprehension on the manufacturing process is required to ensure appropriate mechanical connection between the new and existing components of the product. This paper addresses a method for product optimization based on this hybrid design approach. A specific case of a musical instrument that was redesigned for greater ergonomic compatibility with users was considered to describe the sequential development steps.

Álvaro M. Sampaio, Carina Lopes, Adriana Santos, André Lima, António J. Pontes

Conference Proceedings

Suitability of Sustainable 3D-Printing in the field of Yacht Design: Houseboats for Student Communities and Tourism

Issue relating the vertiginous growth of population, the effects caused by climate change fall-out, as ground consuption represents an important opportunity for the design research community. The adoption of sustainable strategies to solve the problem of high densification of the existing urban fabric with new public functions, housing or tourist accommodation, can introduce new experimentations, by the adoption of unused “ground”, through the application of solutions with low environmental impact and controlled consumption of energy and resources, different contexts such as water. Living on water qualifies as a long-established reality in the contemporary contexts, and many cultures, a global widespread heritage. At the same time, mobility on waterways is a formidable cultural and economic challenge: a developing model based exploring on the alliance between the experimentation of the nautical product and an environmental reflection conducted in terms of enhancing marine, river and lake environments. As the vision suggest, designers provide to develop innovative and futuristic housing models at various scales of intervention. Among the possible interventions, this design research explored the concept of sustainable 3D printed houseboats taking care of diversified target, like student communities or tourists, being careful to ergonomics, safety, enhancement of the natural heritage; the case study focused on using 3D printing production processes using natural fibers, and how the entire process can contribute to to define new interpretative models, new product morphologies, new languages. The result presented in the document provides evidence and validity on the use of sustainable 3D printing production processes for sustainable products, as a good opportunity and intelligent solution adaptable to the conditions imposed by a specific context, with the aim of opening new avenues of research for the design community.

Massimo Di Nicolantonio

Conference Proceedings

The Contribution of Additive Manufacturing in the Design of Inclusive Prostheses

Prostheses are fundamental tools to improve the quality of life of people with physical impairments. However, the way prostheses are designed and produced follows traditional design and manufacturing processes tied to conventional industrial methods. Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies employed through inclusive-oriented design angles can support designers in the creation of enabling – re: inclusive – medical solutions helping patients to live better whilst mitigating the social stigma of living with a medical device in replace of a body part. The inclusive design and production of transradial prostheses using AM is examined in this paper, as well as the effects that the change from conventional manufacturing methods is having on the procurement process, the potential for design developments, and how these affect the perceptions of users and society. Research was done into some relevant case studies of transradial prostheses in order to comprehend how AM was being employed and how Inclusive Design practices can improve AM processes.This study demonstrates how the combination of Inclusive Design and AM has benefited the creation of enabling upper limb prosthesis in numerous ways. Some features include the fact that the availability of AM technologies (i.e., printers) allows for the production of prostheses at lower costs and in remote places with quicker turnaround times and less highly trained workers than traditional methods. General discussions on the suitability of using an Inclusive Design angle for AM are included at the end of the work.

Emilio Rossi

Conference Proceedings