Using a Research Domain Ontology as a driver for Technology Commercialization

O conceito Operator 4.0 desempenha um papel fundamental no tipo de indústria em que nos encontramos hoje, a Indústria 4.0. Durante a revisão da literatura, tornou-se evidente que não existia um modelo de referência para apoiar o desenvolvimento de conceitos inovadores para o Operador 4.0. Por conseguinte, esta investigação centrar-se-á no seu desenvolvimento, em parceria com o Fraunhofer Portugal Research Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions - Fraunhofer AICOS. Como resultado, foi criada uma ontologia, e utilizada a abordagem de Design Science Approach para auxiliar no seu desenvolvimento, seguida de uma primeira validação por especialistas da Fraunhofer Portugal. Posteriormente, foi realizada uma sessão de Focus Group, também com especialistas da Fraunhofer Portugal, que participaram numa segunda e última validação da ontologia, bem como na avaliação das questões de competência. Este estudo contribuiu para uma melhor compreensão de como a organização do conhecimento (Frishammar, Lichtenthaler, & Rundquist, 2012) num determinado domínio tecnológico pode ajudar na tomada de decisões quando é proposto um novo projeto de investigação que pode resultar em propriedade intelectual futura. Esta propriedade intelectual seria licenciada ou explorada de alguma forma no futuro. Após a validação da ontologia, foi realizado um workshop para demonstrar a segunda contribuição desta dissertação, uma proposta sobre como utilizar a ontologia como motor para iniciar o processo tecnológico no contexto da identificação de oportunidades de comercialização futura da tecnologia. No final, este estudo respondeu à pergunta de investigação colocada e às questões de competência relacionadas. Consequentemente, pode-se dizer que com esta investigação, foi eficazmente desenvolvido um modelo de referência para apoiar a construção de soluções Operador 4.0 para a indústria.The Operator 4.0 concept plays a key role in the kind of industry we find ourselves in today, Industry 4.0. In the course of the literature review, it became evident that there was an absence of a reference model to support the development of innovative concepts for Operator 4.0. Therefore, this research will focus on its development, in partnership with Fraunhofer Portugal Research Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions - Fraunhofer AICOS. As a result, an ontology was created, and Design Science Approach used to help its development, followed by a first validation by Fraunhofer Portugal experts. A Focus Group session was held with experts from Fraunhofer Portugal, who participated in the validation of the ontology as well as the evaluation of the competence questions, as a final validation. This study contributed to a better understanding of how knowledge organization (Frishammar, Lichtenthaler, & Rundquist, 2012) in a given technological domain might assist in decision making when a new research project is proposed that may result in future intellectual property. This intellectual property would be licensed or exploited in some way in the future. Following the ontology validation, a workshop was held to demonstrate the second contribution of this dissertation, a proposal on how to use the ontology as a driver to start the technology process in the context of identifying opportunities for future commercialization of the technology. In the end, this study answered the research question and related competence questions. Therefore, it can be said that with this research, a reference model has been effectively developed to support the construction of Operator 4.0 solutions for industry

Designing the Smart Operator 4.0 for Human Values: A Value Sensitive Design Approach

Emerging technologies such as cloud computing, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and robotics, among others, are transforming the field of manufacturing and industry as a whole in unprecedent ways. This fourth industrial revolution is consequentially changing how operators that have been crucial to industry success go about their practices in industrial environments. This short paper briefly introduces the notion of the Operator 4.0 as well as how this novel way of conceptualizing the human operator necessarily implicates human values in the technologies that constitute it. Similarly, the design methodology known as value sensitive design (VSD) is drawn upon to discuss how these Operator 4.0 technologies can be design for human values and, conversely, how a potential value-sensitive Operator 4.0 can be used to strengthen the VSD methodology in developing novel technologies

The cognitive operator 4.0

While previous Industrial Revolutions have increasingly seen the human as a cog in the system, each step reducing the cognitive content of work, Industry 4.0 contrarily views the human as a knowledge worker putting increased focus on cognitive skills and specialised craftsmanship. The opportunities that technological advancement provide are in abundance and to be able to fully take advantage of them, understanding how humans interact with increasingly complex technology is crucial. The Operator 4.0, a framework of eight plausible scenarios attempting to highlight what Industry 4.0 entails for the human worker, takes advantage of extended reality technology; having real-time access to large amounts of data and information; being physically enhanced using powered exoskeletons or through collaboration with automation; and finally real-time monitoring of operator status and health as well as the possibility to collaborate socially with other agents in the Industrial Internet of Things, Services, and People. Some of these will impose larger cognitive challenges than others and this paper presents and discusses parts of the Operator 4.0 projections that will have implications on cognitive work

Smart operators: How Industry 4.0 is affecting the worker's performance in manufacturing contexts

Abstract The fourth industrial revolution is affecting the workforce at strategical, tactical, and operational levels and it is leading to the development of new careers with precise and specific skills and competence. The implementation of enabling technologies in the industrial context involves new types of interactions between operators and machines, interactions that transform the industrial workforce and have significant implications for the nature of the work. The incoming generation of Smart Operators 4.0 is characterised by intelligent and qualified operators who perform the work with the support of machines, interact with collaborative robots and advanced systems, use technologies such as wearable devices and augmented and virtual reality. The correct interaction between the workforce and the various enabling technologies of the 4.0 paradigm represents a crucial aspect of the success of the smart factory. However, this interaction is affected by the variability of human behaviour and its reliability, which can strongly influence the quality, safety, and productivity standards. For this reason, this paper aims to provide a clear and complete analysis of the different types of smart operators and the impact of 4.0 enabling technologies on the performance of operators, evaluating the stakeholders involved, the type of interaction, the changes required for operators in terms of added and removed work, and the new performance achieved by workers

Lean manual assembly 4.0: A systematic review

In a demand context of mass customization, shifting towards the mass personalization of products, assembly operations face the trade-off between highly productive automated systems and flexible manual operators. Novel digital technologies—conceptualized as Industry 4.0—suggest the possibility of simultaneously achieving superior productivity and flexibility. This article aims to address how Industry 4.0 technologies could improve the productivity, flexibility and quality of assembly operations. A systematic literature review was carried out, including 234 peer-reviewed articles from 2010–2020. As a result, the analysis was structured addressing four sets of research questions regarding (1) assembly for mass customization; (2) Industry 4.0 and performance evaluation; (3) Lean production as a starting point for smart factories, and (4) the implications of Industry 4.0 for people in assembly operations. It was found that mass customization brings great complexity that needs to be addressed at different levels from a holistic point of view; that Industry 4.0 offers powerful tools to achieve superior productivity and flexibility in assembly; that Lean is a great starting point for implementing such changes; and that people need to be considered central to Assembly 4.0. Developing methodologies for implementing Industry 4.0 to achieve specific business goals remains an open research topic

The Impact of Industry 4.0 on Ergonomics

The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) has accelerated technology advancement across the manufacturing sector. The technologies of Industry 4.0 make it possible for manufacturing processes to be more efficient while also bringing about changes in human work that may pose new risks to employee wellbeing and test their current abilities. Technologies, such as virtual reality and augmented reality have a significant impact to revise the position and responsibilities of human in the manufacturing environment. Thus, ergonomic perspectives have evolved from focusing solely on adjusting the human to the other components of the work system physically and psychosocially into upgrading cognitive skills to process more information. There are very few ergonomics-related studies in the literature with reference to Industry 4.0 emerging technologies. Especially, research on emphasizing the importance of the concurrent development of technical and ergonomic skills in the industrial setting is a necessity in this modern era. This research aims to explain the modified manufacturing environment, define the role of the human in this new production settings and describe the cognitive modifications required to fit into the Industry 4.0 habitat

Productivity and flexibility improvement of assembly lines for high-mix low-volume production. A white goods industry case

Las tendencias globales de la personalización e individualización en masa impulsan la producción industrial en serie corta y variada; y por tanto una gran variedad de productos en pequeñas cantidades. Por ello, la customización en masa precisa de sistemas de ensamblaje que sean a la vez altamente productivos y flexibles, a diferencia de la tradicional oposición entre ambas características. La llamada cuarta revolución industrial trae diversas tecnologías habilitadoras que podrían ser útiles para abordar este problema. Sin embargo, las metodologías para implementar el ensamblaje 4.0 todavía no han sido resueltas. De hecho, para aprovechar todas las ventajas potenciales de la Industria 4.0, es necesario contar con un nivel previo de excelencia operacional y un análisis holístico de los sistemas productivos. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo entender y definir cómo mejorar la productividad y la flexibilidad de las operaciones de montaje en serie corta y variada.Esta meta se ha dividido en tres objetivos. El primer objetivo consiste en comprender las relaciones entre la Industria 4.0 y las operaciones de ensamblaje, así como sus implicaciones para los operarios. El segundo objetivo consiste en desarrollar una metodología y las herramientas necesarias para evaluar el rendimiento de diferentes configuraciones de cadenas de ensamblaje. El último objetivo consiste en el diseño de sistemas de ensamblaje que permitan incrementar su productividad al menos un 25 %, produciendo en serie corta y variada, mediante la combinación de puestos de montaje manual y estaciones automatizadas.Para abordar la fase de comprensión y definición del problema, se llevó a cabo una revisión bibliográfica sistemática y se desarrolló un marco conceptual para el Ensamblaje 4.0. Se desarrollaron, verificaron y validaron dos herramientas de evaluación del rendimiento: un modelo matemático analítico y varios modelos de simulación por eventos discretos. Para la verificación, y como punto de partida para los análisis, se ha utilizado un caso de estudio industrial de un fabricante global de electrodomésticos. Se han empleado múltiples escenarios de simulación y técnicas de diseño de experimentos para investigar tres cuestiones clave.En primer lugar, se identificaron los factores más críticos para el rendimiento de líneas de montaje manuales multi-modelo. En segundo lugar, se analizó el rendimiento de líneas de montaje semiautomáticas paralelas con operarios móviles en comparación con líneas semiautomáticas o manuales con operarios fijos, empleando diversos escenarios de demanda en serie corta y variada. Por último, se investigó el uso de trenes milkrun para la logística interna de líneas de ensamblaje multi-modelo bajo la influencia de perturbaciones.Los resultados de las simulaciones muestran que las líneas paralelas con operarios móviles pueden superar a las de operarios fijos en cualquier escenario de demanda, alcanzando como mínimo el objetivo de mejorar la productividad en un 25% o más. También permiten reducir cómodamente el número de operarios trabajando en la línea sin afectar negativamente al equilibrado de la misma, posibilitando la producción eficiente de bajo volumen. Los resultados de las simulaciones de logística interna indican que los milkrun pueden proteger las líneas de ensamblaje de las perturbaciones originadas en procesos aguas arriba.Futuras líneas de investigación en base a los resultados obtenidos en esta tesis podrían incluir la expansión e integración de los modelos de simulación actuales para analizar las cadenas de montaje paralelas con operarios móviles incorporando logística, averías y mantenimiento, problemas de control de calidad y políticas de gestión de los retrabajos. Otra línea podría ser el uso de diferentes herramienta para el análisis del desempeño como, por ejemplo, técnicas de programación de la producción que permitan evaluar el desempeño operacional de diferentes configuraciones de cadenas de montaje con operarios móviles, tanto en términos de automatización como de organización en planta. Podrían incorporarse tecnologías de la Industria 4.0 a los modelos de simulación para evaluar su impacto operacional global ¿como cobots para ensamblaje o para la manipulación de materiales, realidad aumentada para el apoyo cognitivo a los operarios, o AGVs para la conducciónde los trenes milkrun. Por último, el trabajo presentado en esta tesis acerca las líneas de ensamblaje semiautomáticas con operarios móviles a su implementación industrial.<br /

Desenvolvimento de um assistente virtual híbrido com propriedades de chatbot e de automação de processos de negócios

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Tecnológico. Engenharia de Controle e Automação.As pessoas vivem cada vez mais ocupadas, com diversas tarefas para cumprir e com prazos sempre mais curtos. Ao mesmo tempo, elas também utilizam novas ferramentas como smartphones e computadores por longos períodos, muitas vezes desviando o foco de assuntos importantes. Neste contexto, os assistentes virtuais possibilitam tornar mais produtivo o tempo passado nestes dispositivos através da realização de diferentes tipos de tarefas. Esse tipo de assistente pode ser utilizado nos mais diversos contextos, atendendo a requisições e até resolvendo problemas de forma autônoma. Este trabalho propõe o desenvolvimento de um assistente virtual integrado a serviços externos em três diferentes cenários de atuação: gerenciamento de informações e execução de operações para alunos e professores da UFSC, auxílio ao operador de uma máquina e atendimento ao cliente e venda de produtos. Uma base de conhecimento para o assistente foi arquitetada na plataforma para criação e gerenciamento de assistentes virtuais chamada Arisa Nest. Para suprir os requisitos do projeto, foi necessário a criação de scripts em linguagem de programação Lua e o acesso à serviços web estilo SOA através da plataforma. O trabalho resultou num assistente virtual capaz de executar diversas ações para estes diferentes cenários de uma maneira bastante eficaz.Nowadays people are always busy, they have several tasks to perform in a short time frame. At the same time, people also use smartphones and computers for long periods of time, often shifting focus from important issues. In this context, virtual personal assistants make it possible that the time spent on these devices become more productive by performing different tasks. This kind of assistant can be used in various contexts, meeting requests and even solving problems autonomously. This paper proposes the development of a virtual assistant integrated to external services in three different scenarios: management of information and execution of tasks for UFSC’s students and professors, assistance to the operator of an industrial machine, customer service and sale of products. A knowledge base for the chatbot was architected on the Arisa Nest platform. To meet the project requirements, it was necessary to create scripts using Lua programming language and access SOA-style web services through the platform. The work resulted in a virtual assistant capable of performing several actions for these different scenarios in a very effective way

Sense and Respond

Over the past century, the manufacturing industry has undergone a number of paradigm shifts: from the Ford assembly line (1900s) and its focus on efficiency to the Toyota production system (1960s) and its focus on effectiveness and JIDOKA; from flexible manufacturing (1980s) to reconfigurable manufacturing (1990s) (both following the trend of mass customization); and from agent-based manufacturing (2000s) to cloud manufacturing (2010s) (both deploying the value stream complexity into the material and information flow, respectively). The next natural evolutionary step is to provide value by creating industrial cyber-physical assets with human-like intelligence. This will only be possible by further integrating strategic smart sensor technology into the manufacturing cyber-physical value creating processes in which industrial equipment is monitored and controlled for analyzing compression, temperature, moisture, vibrations, and performance. For instance, in the new wave of the ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ (IIoT), smart sensors will enable the development of new applications by interconnecting software, machines, and humans throughout the manufacturing process, thus enabling suppliers and manufacturers to rapidly respond to changing standards. This reprint of “Sense and Respond” aims to cover recent developments in the field of industrial applications, especially smart sensor technologies that increase the productivity, quality, reliability, and safety of industrial cyber-physical value-creating processes

Foundations of Human-Aware Planning -- A Tale of Three Models

abstract: A critical challenge in the design of AI systems that operate with humans in the loop is to be able to model the intentions and capabilities of the humans, as well as their beliefs and expectations of the AI system itself. This allows the AI system to be "human- aware" -- i.e. the human task model enables it to envisage desired roles of the human in joint action, while the human mental model allows it to anticipate how its own actions are perceived from the point of view of the human. In my research, I explore how these concepts of human-awareness manifest themselves in the scope of planning or sequential decision making with humans in the loop. To this end, I will show (1) how the AI agent can leverage the human task model to generate symbiotic behavior; and (2) how the introduction of the human mental model in the deliberative process of the AI agent allows it to generate explanations for a plan or resort to explicable plans when explanations are not desired. The latter is in addition to traditional notions of human-aware planning which typically use the human task model alone and thus enables a new suite of capabilities of a human-aware AI agent. Finally, I will explore how the AI agent can leverage emerging mixed-reality interfaces to realize effective channels of communication with the human in the loop.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Computer Science 201