Enabling Live Data Controlled Manual Assembly Processes by Worker Information System and Nearfield Localization System

AbstractExisting localization solutions cannot be directly integrated into production systems. This article describes a nearfield localization system which can be installed on tools due to its small dimensions. Live data controlled manual assembly processes are enabled. In combination with worker information systems, the manual assembly process can be supported more precisely compared to common systems. The benefits are shown within product-specific assembly scenarios. One benefit is enabling work out of sight (non-visible range) guided through a virtual model on a screen. Error prevention (zero-defect assembly) can be realized by monitoring and matching the actual position to the assembly location. Even without augmented reality devices, comparative 3-D representations of real and virtual world are feasible, supporting employees in mobile workshop with complex repairs. In particular, difficult accessibility can be easily determined when carrying out maintenance work by knowing the complete product structure

Performance of RIS-Aided Nearfield Localization under Beams Approximation from Real Hardware Characterization

The technology of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) has been showing promising potential in a variety of applications relying on Beyond-5G networks. Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) can indeed provide fine channel flexibility to improve communication quality of service (QoS) or restore localization capabilities in challenging operating conditions, while conventional approaches fail (e.g., due to insufficient infrastructure, severe radio obstructions). In this paper, we tackle a general low-complexity approach for optimizing the precoders that control such reflective surfaces under hardware constraints. More specifically, it allows the approximation of any desired beam pattern using a pre-characterized look-up table of feasible complex reflection coefficients for each RIS element. The proposed method is first evaluated in terms of beam fidelity for several examples of RIS hardware prototypes. Then, by means of a theoretical bounds analysis, we examine the impact of RIS beams approximation on the performance of near-field downlink positioning in non-line-of-sight conditions, while considering several RIS phase profiles (incl. directional, random and localization-optimal designs). Simulation results in a canonical scenario illustrate how the introduced RIS profile optimization scheme can reliably produce the desired RIS beams under realistic hardware limitations. They also highlight its sensitivity to both the underlying hardware characteristics and the required beam kinds in relation to the specificity of RIS-aided localization applications.Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, journa

A short review of the SDKs and wearable devices to be used for AR application for industrial working environment

During the last two decades, and especially the last few years, augmented reality helps workers manage safety risks on site and prevent injuries and increase the efficiency of safety. This review on the presently existing SDKs and their features is aimed at finding the most efficient AR SDK that would be suitable and would correspond to the purpose of the AR application for industrial working environment in terms of safety. The summarized information of the world\u2019s most widely used platforms for AR development, with support for leading phones, tablets and eyewear, SDKs presently available on the market is intended to help developers to create their AR application as well as to which parameters one should pay attention to, when building augmented reality applications for industrial use

A Wireless Angle and Position Tracking Concept for Live Data Control of Advanced, Semi-Automated Manufacturing Processes

Despite recent industrial automation advances, small series production still requires a considerable amount of manual work, and training, and monitoring of workers is consuming a significant amount of time and manpower. Adopting live monitoring of the stages in manual production, along with the comprehensive representation of production steps, may help resolve this problem. For ergonomic live support, the overall system presented in this paper combines localization, torque control, and a rotation counter in a novel approach to monitor of semi-automated manufacturing processes. A major challenge in this context is tracking, especially hand-guided tools, without the disruptions and restrictions necessary with rigid position encoders. In this paper, a promising measurement concept involving wireless wave-based sensors for close-range position tracking in industrial surroundings is proposed. By using simple beacons, the major share of processing is transferred to fixed nodes, allowing for reduced hardware size and power consumption for the wireless mobile units. This requires designated localization approaches relying on only relative phase information, similar to the proposed Kalman-filter-based-beam-tracking approach. Measurement results show a beam-tracking accuracy of about 0.58 ∘ in azimuth and 0.89 ∘ in elevation, resulting in an overall tracking accuracy of about 3.18 cm

Analyse des Einflusses von Gestaltungsparametern von Werkerführungssystemen auf deren Nutzung, Gefallen und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Kontext Montage

Im folgenden Beitrag zur Doktorandenwerkstatt wird ein Ansatz zur Analyse von Gestaltungsparametern von Werkerführungssystemen im Kontext Montage vorgestellt. Werkerführungssysteme sollen als kognitive Assistenzsysteme Mitarbeiter unterstützen, indem sie relevante Informationen bereitstellen. Es wird eine Arbeitsdefinition für Werkerführungssysteme genannt und Gestaltungsansätze beschrieben. Diese, so wie weitere Aspekte des Arbeitssystems Montage, sollen in drei Studien exemplarisch variiert und die Auswirkungen auf Nutzen und Gefallen der Mitarbeiter, sowie wirtschaftliche Kennzahlen untersucht werden. Das zugrundeliegendes Arbeitsmodell, beispielhafte Hypothesen und die Methodik werden hierfür erläutert und ein Ausblick auf die kommenden Studien und das Studiendesign gegeben

Design and implementation of a marker-based AR-enabled tool tracking system for manufacturing manual operation

Although automation and robotics are widely implemented in manufacturing industry nowadays, assembly tasks and rework processes are still carried out manually by human operators because of their complexity and the need for a level of adaptability and flexibility greater than automation solutions can provide. However, manual operations exhibit variability and are subject to human errors, which could lead to unexpected delays or quality issues. Enabling traceability of manual operations is also intrinsically more challenging than for automated processes as it typically relies on the operator consistently providing direct input (e.g. HMI/operator interaction).Research suggests that augmented reality (AR) technology can contribute to enhance human-machine interaction by providing operators with a seamless digital bi-directional interface with physical systems (e.g. product or production systems), thus improving manual operations’ overall effectiveness. Existing research related to the development of AR-based solutions for manufacturing focus essentially on training and maintenance use cases, while there is limited development of applications aiming at supporting in-production operations. In addition, while AR technologies are used to provide information to the operator, the development of capabilities allowing manual process and operators to be monitored during operations, are lacking. The research presented in this paper adopt a holistic approach combining manual operation monitoring and operator feedback capabilities. The DAMPO (Digitally Augmented Manual Process Optimisation) system implements a) computer vision technologies to provide continuous operator and manual operations monitoring capabilities b) content rich and highly interactive user interfaces using screen-based 3D and AR-based information display, and c) near real-time data capture, management and processing pipelines that provide both real-time system/user interaction and collection of historical process data. The use case for this research focuses on specific manual assembly operations of safety critical components of seating systems for the automotive industry, which require precise sequence of operations and full traceability of the assembly process for audit purposes (safety critical operations). The DAMPO system is implemented in the Automation Systems Group's Digital Automation Laboratory at the University of Warwick, WMG department, UK, and is used to support both low TRL level research and direct engagement with industry on developing human centric manufacturing solutions. The DAMPO systems implement both process monitoring capabilities (i.e. data capture) and Electronic Work Instruction functions (information feedback and presentation of the operator) in view of improving process traceability and implementing no-fault forward capabilities. The DAMPO solutions combines a wide range of a) visual computing methods (fiducial, IR marker and 3D object based pose estimation), and b) information display and operator interface technologies (e.g. projected, screen-based and head-mounted AR layer display, HMI and work instruction screens with interactive 3D content, haptic feedback), which can be combined differently depending on the use case, and use case requirements such as hand free operations, complexity of work instructions or operator feedback and interactions, etc. This production-ready solution is tested and evaluated on a replicable production cell using real product and real assembly process

A Framework for Control Channels Applied to Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

The research on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) has dominantly been focused on physical-layer aspects and analyses of the achievable adaptation of the propagation environment. Compared to that, the questions related to link/MAC protocol and system-level integration of RISs have received much less attention. This paper addresses the problem of designing and analyzing control/signaling procedures, which are necessary for the integration of RISs as a new type of network element within the overall wireless infrastructure. We build a general model for designing control channels along two dimensions: i) allocated bandwidth (in-band and out-of band) and ii) rate selection (multiplexing or diversity). Specifically, the second dimension results in two transmission schemes, one based on channel estimation and the subsequent adapted RIS configuration, while the other is based on sweeping through predefined RIS phase profiles. The paper analyzes the performance of the control channel in multiple communication setups, obtained as combinations of the aforementioned dimensions. While necessarily simplified, our analysis reveals the basic trade-offs in designing control channels and the associated communication algorithms. Perhaps the main value of this work is to serve as a framework for subsequent design and analysis of various system-level aspects related to the RIS technology.Comment: Submitted to IEEE TWC, the copyright may be transferred without further notic

Engineering of plasmonic excitations for hand-held and ultra-sensitive biosensors

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityEarly detection and effective diagnosis are important for disease screening and preventing epidemics. Recently, optical biosensors have attracted significant attention, as they are very powerful detection and analysis tools that have variety of applications in homeland security, public and global healthcare, biomedical research and pharmacology. However, most of these biosensors are time-consuming, require costly chemical procedures and bulky instrumentation, and need advanced medical infrastructures with trained laboratory professionals. In order to address these needs, recently lensfree computational on-chip imaging techniques have been introduced to eliminate the need for bulky and costly optical components. However, this technology is limited by the size of the analytes as it uses a lensfree computational technique insufficient for detecting biomolecules down to nm-scale. In order to provide highly sensitive and massively multiplexed detection of biomolecular binding events, fluorescent imaging and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based platforms are the most favored. However, SPR sensors are limited due to the alignment sensitive prism coupling scheme and bulky instrumentation while the fluorescence imaging suffers from quantitative and qualitative drawbacks of the labeling steps. This thesis focuses on the unique integration of lensfree telemedicine technology and nanostructured plasmonic chip technology to realize ultra-sensitive and label-free biosensing in a high-throughput and massively multiplexed manner for field-settings. Toward this aim, we introduce a handheld on-chip biosensing technology that employs plasmonic microarrays coupled with a lensfree computational imaging system. Employing a sensitive plasmonic array design that is combined with lensfree computational imaging, we demonstrate label-free and quantitative detection of biomolecules with a protein layer thickness down to 3 nm. Integrating large-scale plasmonic microarrays, our platform enables the simultaneous detection of protein mono- and bilayers on the same platform over a wide range of biomolecule concentrations. In this plasmonic device, we also monitor binding dynamics of protein complexes as a function of time by integrating it with microfluidics. Plasmonic antennas utilized in our lensfree platform, supporting very sharp and sensitive spectral feature as well as easily accessible large local electromagnetic fields, are highly advantageous for biosensing applications as they enable stronger interaction between surface waves and biological molecules on the sensing chip

In-process monitoring in electrical machine manufacturing: A review of state of the art and future directions

Manual operations feature prominently in the manufacture of many electrical machines. Even though high-volume electrical machine manufacture is dominated by automation, several manufacturing operations continue to involve manual intervention because of the complexity of such operations makes them heavily reliant on high dexterity manual skills and experience. However, quality can be variable due to human involvement. Currently, in order to maintain a high precision of control and required tolerances of the final machine, inspection is performed at various steps during manufacturing and assembly. Detecting a defect at these end-of-line tests can result in significant wasted time and costs due to rework or scrappage. The solution to this problem lies in in-process monitoring particularly for error prone manual operations. This paper presents a literature review of the state-of-the-art available techniques and limitations in process monitoring within the context of electrical machine manufacturing. To quantify the degree of manual activities in process monitoring within electrical machine manufacture, a structured survey of UK based companies was conducted, identifying specific error prone manual processes to target, and gaps in inspection. The survey identified that a significant proportion of activities in electrical machine manufacture are manual, or semi-automated with manual interventions. However, literature review revealed only a limited research in in-process monitoring of manual operations in this area. Finally, two case studies are presented where case study 1 presents a framework for digitisation of a variety of manual manufacturing tasks, and case study 2 demonstrates real-time capture, modelling and analysis of deformable linear objects in electrical machine manufacturing

Wellbeing at Work — Emotional Impact on Workers Using a Worker Guidance System Designed for Positive User Experience

Wellbeing at work can be achieved through different strategies; designing for a positive user experience (UX) is one way. However, the relationship between wellbeing and professionally used technology is rather unexplored, especially in work areas that are far from desktop work such as worker guidance systems (WGSs) used in assembly processes. In this paper, we first described a qualitative evaluation (using the valence method) of a prototype WGS designed for a positive UX. The evaluation showed that it elicited far more positive than negative feelings. Based on the results, we improved and redesigned the prototype. We then implemented it in a realistic setting and quantitatively compared it with an established WGS. It was shown that the prototype elicited more positive feelings than the established system, whereas there were no differences in the number of negative markers. Thus, one can assume that the improvement of UX in the redesigned system was due to the positive UX design concepts. However, there were no significant differences in the mood questionnaires. The paper showed that positive experiences at work can be achieved when the design of professional technology is focused on a positive UX. Long-term studies should further investigate whether these experiences lead to a generally elevated mood