Organizational concepts and interaction between humans and robots in industrial environments

This paper is discussing the intuitive interaction with robotic systems and the conceptualisation connected with known organisational problems. In particular, the focus will be on the manufacturing industry with respect to its social dimension. One of the aims is to identify relevant research questions about the possibility of development of safer robot systems in closer human-machine intuitive interaction systems at the manufacturing shop-floor level. We try to contribute to minimize the cognitive and perceptual workload for robot operators in complex working systems. In particular that will be highly relevant when more different robots with different roles and produced by different companies or designers are to be used in the manufacturing industry to a larger extent. The social sciences approach to such technology assessment is of high relevance to understand the dimensions of the intuitive interaction concept

Entering PIN codes by smooth pursuit eye movements

Despite its potential gaze interaction is still not a widely-used interaction concept. Major drawbacks as the calibration, strain of the eyes and the high number of false alarms are associated with gaze based interaction and limit its practicability for every-day human computer interaction. In this paper two experiments are described which use smooth pursuit eye movements on moving display buttons. The first experiment was conducted to extract an easy and fast interaction concept and at the same time to collect data to develop a specific but robust algorithm. In a follow-up experiment, twelve conventionally calibrated participants interacted successfully with the system. For another group of twelve people the eye tracker was not calibrated individually, but on a third person. Results show that for both groups interaction was possible without false alarms. Both groups rated the user experience of the system as positive

Personality Trait Theory and Multitasking Performance: Implications for Ergonomic Design

Although system designers usually minimise the role of individual differences in operation, personality variables could explain differences in multitasking performance. A concomitant theoretical issue is whether primary or surface personality traits do a better job of predicting performance than the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or global traits. A sample of 174 undergraduates completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), which was followed by a performance task. A computer-based task that measured simultaneous performance on an arithmetic task and a mental rotation task was used to measure multitasking performance; scores measured the percent accuracy. Primary traits for low emotional sensitivity and high abstractedness, self-control, and general reasoning were all correlated with performance (R 2 = .11), but global or traits corresponding to the FFM were not, except in one sporadic task trial. There was also a strong gender effect on performance. Implications for the study of personality traits in ergonomics are discussed

Technology as enabler of the automation of work? Current societal challenges for a future perspective of work

Due to the innovative possibilities of digital technologies, the issue of increasing automation is once again on the agenda – and not only in the industry, but also in other branches and sectors of contemporary societies. Although public and scientific discussions about automation seem to raise relevant questions of the “old” debate, such as the replacement of human labor by introducing new technologies, the authors focus here on the new contextual quality of these questions. The debate should rethink the relationship between technology and work with regard to quantitative and qualitative changes in work. In this article, our example will be the introduction of automation in industry, which has been reflected in the widely recognized study by Frey and Osborne in 2013. They estimated the expected impacts of future computerization on US labor market outcomes as very high, specifically regarding the number of jobs at risk. Surprisingly, this study was the starting point of an intensive international debate on the impact of technologies on the future of work and the role of technological change in working environments. Thus, according to the authors, “old” questions remain important, but they should be reinterpreted for “new” societal demands and expectations of future models of work

Current societal challenges for a future perspective of work

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020Em virtude das possibilidades de inovação colocadas pelas tecnologias digitais, vem crescendo o debate sobre o aumento da automação – não apenas na indústria, mas também em outros ramos e setores das sociedades contemporâneas. Embora os debates público e científico sobre automação pareçam focar questões relevantes do “antigo” debate, como a substituição do trabalho humano pela introdução de novas tecnologias, os autores concentram-se, aqui, no novo aspecto contextual dessas questões. O debate precisa repensar a relação entre tecnologia e trabalho no que concerne às mudanças quantitativas e qualitativas no trabalho. Neste artigo, nosso exemplo será a introdução da automação na indústria, que se refletiu no estudo amplamente reconhecido de Frey e Osborne, de 2013. Eles estimaram impactos profundos da futura informatização sobre os desfechos do mercado de trabalho dos EUA, particularmente em relação ao número de empregos em risco. Surpreendentemente, este estudo foi o ponto de partida para um intenso debate internacional sobre o impacto das tecnologias no futuro do trabalho e o papel da mudança tecnológica nos ambientes de trabalho. Assim, de acordo com os autores, embora as “velhas” questões permaneçam importantes, elas devem ser reinterpretadas considerando as “novas” demandas sociais e expectativas de modelos futuros de trabalho. Due to the innovative possibilities of digital technologies, the issue of increasing automation is once again on the agenda – and not only in the industry, but also in other branches and sectors of contemporary societies. Although public and scientific discussions about automation seem to raise relevant questions of the “old” debate, such as the replacement of human labor by introducing new technologies, the authors focus here on the new contextual quality of these questions. The debate should rethink the relationship between technology and work with regard to quantitative and qualitative changes in work. In this article, our example will be the introduction of automation in industry, which has been reflected in the widely recognized study by Frey and Osborne in 2013. They estimated the expected impacts of future computerization on US labor market outcomes as very high, specifically regarding the number of jobs at risk. Surprisingly, this study was the starting point of an intensive international debate on the impact of technologies on the future of work and the role of technological change in working environments. Thus, according to the authors, “old” questions remain important, but they should be reinterpreted for “new” societal demands and expectations of future models of work.publishersversionpublishe

Robots Working with Humans or Humans Working with Robots? Searching for Social Dimensions in New Human-Robot Interaction in Industry

The focus of the following article is on the use of new robotic systems in the manufacturing industry with respect to the social dimension. Since “intuitive” human–machine interaction (HMI) in robotic systems becomes a significant objective of technical progress, new models of work organization are needed. This hypothesis will be investigated through the following two aims: The first aim is to identify relevant research questions related to the potential use of robotic systems in different systems of work organization at the manufacturing shop-floor level. The second aim is to discuss the conceptualization of (old) organizational problems of human–robot interaction (HRI). In this context, the article reflects on the limits of cognitive and perceptual workload for robot operators in complex working systems. This will be particularly relevant whenever more robots with different “roles” are to be increasingly used in the manufacturing industry. The integration of such complex socio-technical systems needs further empirical and conceptual research with regard to “social” aspects of the technical dimension. Future research should, therefore, also integrate economic and societal issues to understand the full dimensions of new human–robot interaction in industry today

Granularity of cognitive representations in actions - Advances to the cognitive architecture of actions

Lex H. Granularity of cognitive representations in actions - Advances to the cognitive architecture of actions. Bielefeld: Universitätsbibliothek Bielefeld; 2015.The perspectives described in the current thesis are restricted to considerations about the control of voluntary movements at the level of mental representation. The question is which cognitive mechanisms enable humans to execute voluntary movements and how they are accessed. Several scientific theories and models described the cognitive organization of voluntary movements. A promising approach postulates the existence of cognitive representations. Cognitive representations might constitute a plausible connection between the to-be-produced environmental effects and the actual (muscular managed) control of the own body. The current thesis describes research results delivered from experiments, which investigated cognitive representations at three different movement-related complexity levels: manual actions (1), complex actions (2), and interactions (3). The representation structures at all the levels of different complexity revealed similarities regarding the organization of the corresponding representation units. The data of the current thesis proposes a hierarchical order formation at the level of mental representations in the cognitive architecture of complex actions. This order formation distinguishes the stages of action organization (e.g., Basic Interaction Concepts), action control (e.g., Basic Action Con-cepts), and action implementation (e.g., Basic Movement Concepts) from each other. This thesis discusses the findings, and expands the approach of the cognitive architecture of complex actions with regard to the granularity of cognitive representations in actions

Konzeption und Entwicklung eines Robot Cognition Processors für adaptive Demontageanwendungen

Im Rahmen der perspektivischen Einführung einer Kreislaufwirtschaft sind ökonomische und ökologische Aspekte entscheidend für die Attraktivität der Umsetzung in beteiligten Wirtschaftsunternehmen. Die Demontage stellt innerhalb von Verwertungsprozessen in diesen Konzepten einen wichtigen Schritt dar, der aufgrund von hoher Varianten- und Zustandsvielfalt überwiegend manuell ausgeführt wird. Diese Forschungsarbeit untersucht die Möglichkeiten der nachhaltigen Verbesserung des Demontageprozesses durch selektive (Teil-)Automatisierung mit Hilfe eines Konzeptes aus dem Bereich der kognitiven Robotik. Es wird dabei auf Grundlage der Anforderungen aus realen Demontageprozessen ein System entwickelt, das in einer agentenbasierten Modulstruktur die Funktionsumfänge bietet, die für eine autonome, flexible Demontageplanung unter Berücksichtigung von Produkt- und Lebenszyklusdaten erforderlich sind und die effiziente Ausführung der Demontageoperationen im Rahmen einer Mensch-Roboter-Kollaboration erlauben. Grundlage für die entwickelten Module stellt ein standardisiertes Informationsmanagement-Konzept dar, welches die Anlagenebene der Demontage technisch mit allen beteiligten Stakeholdern der zirkulären Wertschöpfungskette verknüpft. Mit Hilfe von Industrie 4.0 Technologien, wie beispielsweise dem Einsatz von KI-unterstützten Entscheidungssystemen oder einer intelligenten Bilderkennungseinheit können so produktindividuelle Verwertungsszenarien innerhalb der Kreislaufwirtschaft bestimmt werden, welche die Schlüsselposition der Demontage am Beginn der zirkulären Wertschöpfungskette bestmöglich nutzen. Die Untersuchungen des Systemkonzeptes am Beispiel der Moduldemontage von Elektrofahrzeug-Batterien zeigen, dass mit dem entwickelten Konzept eine Verbesserung gegenüber manueller Demontageoperationen erzielt werden kann. Die Verknüpfung der Systemeinheiten lässt sich durch die verwendeten Interoperabilitätsstandards skalieren und erlaubt so auch den industriellen Einsatz. Durch bidirektionale Kommunikationsstrukturen wird gezeigt, dass es möglich ist validierte Prozessinformationen aus einer Demontageeinheit an anderen Stellen zu nutzen. Dies reduziert den effektiven Aufwand im Umgang mit einer hohen Variantenvielfalt. Die Verwendung der entwickelten Modulkonzepte ist grundsätzlich auch in angrenzenden Feldern möglich, erfordert jedoch weitere Entwicklungs- und Abstimmungsarbeit. Aus den Ergebnissen dieser Konzeptentwicklung folgen zahlreiche Weiterentwicklungs- und Anwendungspotenziale für Robotiksysteme im Bereich der kreislaufwirtschaftlichen Verwertungsprozesse. Vor dem Hintergrund der Notwendigkeit der Rückgewinnung kritischer Elemente und einer effizienten Ressourcennutzung durch höherwertige (Teil-)Nutzungs- und Verwertungsoptionen, ist der Einsatz hierauf aufbauender Konzepte eine lohnenswerte Zukunftsperspektive.In the pursuance of a Circular Economy, both economic and ecological aspects are crucial for the implementation in private companies. The disassembly process itself is a very important step in end-oflife utilization and because of the high variance of products and their conditions it is mainly carried out manually. This work investigates the possibilities of a sustainable improvement of such processes by selective automation with cognitive robotics. Based on requirements of real disassembly cases, a robot system is conceptualized and developed which is able to facilitate an autonomous, flexible disassembly planning while taking both product and lifecycle data into account. Furthermore, the execution of the disassembly process in the concept is carried out as a human-machine-collaboration. The overall foundation of the system is an information management concept which connects shopfloor level disassembly with all stakeholders within the circular value chain. Using Industry 4.0 technologies, for instance AI decision systems or an intelligent image recognition, part-individual utilization scenarios can be defined this way. The investigation of the system concept on the case study of module disassembly of electric vehicle batteries shows that automation is both more effective and efficient in comparison to manual operations. Interfaces are highly scalable because of the interoperability standards used, preparing the concept to be implemented in industry. Moreover, bidirectional communication pipelines enable the exchange of valid process knowledge between several stakeholders, reducing the effort of dealing with a high variance of products and conditions. Transfer of the concept to other fields of industry or recycling operations is possible but requires further development for the actual use case. Conclusively, the concept developed opens up a manifold of different application scenarios for cognitive robotics in the Circular Economy domain. Keeping the necessity of recovering critical elements and the reuse of valuable components in mind, an implementation of future concepts based on this approach is a perspective worthwhile

Modeling of Biomechanical Parameters Based on LTM Structures

Schütz C, Klein-Soetebier T, Schack T. Modeling of Biomechanical Parameters Based on LTM Structures. In: Ritter H, Sagerer G, Dillmann R, Buss M, eds. Human Centered Robot Systems: Cognition, Interaction, Technology. Cognitive Systems Monographs, 6. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 2009: 161-171