Design for the cyber-physical system of the new industry. New design scenarios for humans between physical and digital dimensions

The adaptation to a technological development that centers on the progressive encounter between digital and physical reality is one of the current challenges of design, mainly in those contexts where such progress is closely linked to environments that take little account of human presence, such as the contemporary industrial revolution, which, while committed to human-centric evolution with the concept of Industry 5.0, also generates automation mechanisms far from its understanding. This is the case of cyber-physical systems (CPS), a keyword in a research that aims to explore new criteria for studying human-automation interaction. The term, juxtaposes the word "cyber" (belonging to computer components) and "physical" (related to the real, tangible world). It is in the meeting of the two terms that it is intended to formulate a design methodology that bridges the gap between human and automation, analyzing the state of the art related to the operator's experience in such contexts and exploring topics such as Human Machine Interface and involved tools (from Extended Reality to wearable devices). Thus, a new research scenario opens up where we explore how design can look out to new and purely engineering environments, expanding the concept of cyber-physical not only to sentient and intelligent machines, but to an adaptive dimension between humans and the system where the symbiosis between them (digital and physical) leads to the definition of a human-centered manufacturing naturally favorable to mental and physical human presence

Design perspectives for the future of work in industry 5.0 environment: the digital and physical space in augmented reality uses

The advent of Industry 4.0 has introduced into the manufacturing environment a new level of interconnection between machines, operations and sensors that have been able to automate entire processes. Along with this decentralization of the workforce, the new concept of Industry 5.0 aspires to elevate humans to the focal point of cognitive, physical and digital activities, by bringing advanced technologies that autonomously work beside humans in a human-centered perspective. This is proposed to go beyond the productive purpose by enhancing the experience and quality of work itself, generating questions about how design could intervene to foster effective communication (by limiting misunderstanding and conflict between the technology and the operator) especially in situations where digital and physical are blended. The object of study is the manipulation of the operator’s work environment through the use of Augmented Reality (AR), investigating how it can be integrated into the work experience in terms of performance and psychological response, with particular attention to the type of interface placed in the worker’s own spatial reality. After an overview of the use of eXtended Reality (XR) modes and how such technology can support human work, the focus will be placed on the category of Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) aimed at operator training and assistance during production routine, which will then be analyzed from a design perspective involving reflections on how the discipline could intervene to enhance learning and use. These definitions point to raising the human factor above the task of assembly and the related operations, therefore the experience over the process, supporting the concept of human-centered manufacturing. From a design point of view, this becomes subject of exploration not only regarding the configuration of the interface itself, but how its functionality can be manipulated to make the experience engaging in terms of tasks to be performed and human cognitive response, to arrive at considerations derived from a literature review with observations about possible ways in which the figure of the designer could act in such a typically engineering context

Virtual proximity in the factory processes: designing interfaces between industrial equipment and human operators

The paradigm of Industry 4.0 is increasingly permeating the way people work, live and interact with others. In the context of smart factories, industrial machines are increasingly intelligent and automated, but human oversight in the industrial processes remains crucial and requires highly skilled personnel executing quick and precise interventions on the production line. Nevertheless, communication with factory machines still relies hardly comprehensible codes on interfaces that follow the traditional Window-Icon-Menu-Pointer model. Through research based on surveys and field observations, this study aims to analyse the state of the art of human-machine interfaces, user behaviour and communication processes in a smart factory. Presenting a case study, this contribution offers a report on an experimental research project carried out through a design thinking approach applied in an Industry 4.0 environment. This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about the possible future of human-centric interfaces in the industrial workplace, as well as the role of user-centred design in building experiences that go beyond conventional screen-based interactions

Clinical evaluation of a nutraceutical diet as an adjuvant to pharmacological treatment in dogs affected by Keratoconjunctivitis sicca.

BACKGROUND: Canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca (cKCS) is an inflammatory eye condition related to a deficiency in the tear aqueous fraction. Etiopathogenesis of such disease is substantially multifactorial, combining the individual genetic background with environmental factors that contribute to the process of immunological tolerance disruption and, as a consequence, to the emergence of autoimmunity disease. In this occurrence, it is of relevance the role of the physiological immune-dysregulation that results in immune-mediated processes at the basis of cKCS. Current therapies for this ocular disease rely on immunosuppressive treatments. Clinical response to treatment frequently varies from poor to good, depending on the clinical-pathological status of eyes at diagnosis and on individual response to therapy. In the light of the variability of clinical response to therapies, we evaluated the use of an anti-inflammatory/antioxidant nutraceutical diet with potential immune-modulating activity as a therapeutical adjuvant in cKCS pharmacological treatment. Such combination was administered to a cohort of dogs affected by cKCS in which the only immunosuppressive treatment resulted poorly responsive or ineffective in controlling the ocular symptoms. RESULTS: Fifty dogs of different breeds affected by immune-mediated cKSC were equally distributed and randomly assigned to receive either a standard diet (control, n = 25) or the nutraceutical diet (treatment group, n = 25) both combined with standard immunosuppressive therapy over a 60 days period. An overall significant improvement of all clinical parameters (tear production, conjunctival inflammation, corneal keratinization, corneal pigment density and mucus discharge) and the lack of food-related adverse reactions were observed in the treatment group (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the association of traditional immune-suppressive therapy with the antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties of the nutraceutical diet resulted in a significant amelioration of clinical signs and symptoms in cKSC. The beneficial effects, likely due to the presence of supplemented nutraceuticals in the diet, appeared to specifically reduce the immune-mediated ocular symptoms in those cKCS-affected dogs that were poorly responsive or unresponsive to classical immunosuppressive drugs. These data suggest that metabolic changes could affect the immune response orchestration in a model of immune-mediated ocular disease, as represented by cKSC