This book aims to discuss the technical and ethical challenges posed by the present technological framework and to highlight the fundamental role played by human-centred design and human factors in the definition of robotic architectures for human–robot collaboration.
The book gives an updated overview of the most recent robotic technology, conceived and designed to collaborate with human beings in industrial working scenarios. The technological development of robotics over the last years and the fast evolution of AI, machine learning and IoT have paved the way for applications that extend far beyond the typical use of robots performing repetitive tasks in exclusive spaces. In this new technological paradigm that is expected to drive the robotics market in the coming years, robots and workers will coexist in the same workplace, sharing not only this lived space, but also the roles and functions inherent to a process of production, merging the benefits of automated and manual performing. However, having robots cooperating in real time with workers, responding in a physical, psychological and social adequate way, requires a human-centred design that not only calls for high safety standards regulating the quality of human–robot interaction, but also demands the robot's fine-grained perception and awareness of the dynamics of its surrounding environment, namely the behaviours of their human peers―their expected actions/responses―fostering the necessary collaborative efforts towards the accomplishment of the tasks to be executed.
Author(s): Maria Isabel Aldinhas Ferreira, Sarah R. Fletcher
Series: Intelligent Systems, Control and Automation: Science and Engineering, 81
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 297
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
On Human Condition: The Status of Work
1 Introduction
2 The Key Elements of a Universal Existential Framework and the Specificity of Human Cognition
3 Work as a Human Endowment
4 When Tools Become Autonomous: The Ontological Shift
5 The Future of Work/The Work of the Future: The Way Forward
References
Human Robot Collaboration in Industrial Environments
1 Introduction
2 Current State
2.1 Human–Robot Collaborative Tasks
2.2 Human Robot Interaction Types
2.3 Collaborative Robots and HRC
3 Future Trends and Transformations
3.1 Novel Interaction Means
4 Conclusion
References
Participatory Approach to Commissioning Collaborative Industrial Robot Systems
1 Introduction
2 Psychological Health and Safety Aspects Inhibiting Technology Acceptance
2.1 Physical and Psychological Protection
2.2 Lack of Participation
2.3 Lack of Communication
2.4 Lack of Training
3 Opportunities for Worker Consultation and Participation
3.1 Leadership, Communication and Participation of Workers
3.2 Task Selection and Planning
3.3 Risk Assessment
3.4 Knowledge and Skill Development
3.5 Robot System Verification and Validation
3.6 Conclusion
References
Robot Inference of Human States: Performance and Transparency in Physical Collaboration
1 Introduction
2 Interactive Robots
2.1 Robot as Tools
2.2 Robots which infer
2.3 Dangers of Inference
3 From Agent to Team
3.1 I Work Alone
3.2 Collaborative Objectives
3.3 Robots as Students
4 Conclusion
References
Human–Robot Collaboration Using Visual Cues for Communication
1 Introduction
2 Why Do We Need Communication Between Humans and Robots?
3 What Information Needs to Be Communicated in Manufacturing?
3.1 Free Flow Approach
3.2 Structured Approach
4 How Can Communication Affect User Work and Wellbeing?
4.1 Laboratory Test
4.2 Field Study
5 What the Future Holds
References
Trust in Industrial Human–Robot Collaboration
1 Introduction to Trust
2 Trust Literature Review
2.1 Generic Human-Automation Interactions
2.2 Human–Robot Interactions
3 Industrial Human–Robot Collaboration
4 Measuring Trust in Industrial Human–Robot Collaboration
4.1 Development of the Trust Scale
5 Conclusion
References
Adapting Autonomy and Personalisation in Collaborative Human–Robot Systems
1 Introduction
2 The Current State in the Adaptive and Smart Manufacturing Systems Domain
3 Projects Overview by EFFRA Portal
4 ACE Factories Cluster
4.1 Human-Centricity in ACE Factories Projects
5 A4BLUE Project
5.1 Reference architecture (RA)—The current ‘State of the Art’ (SoA) in Manufacturing workplace
5.2 Development of Architecture—How Was the A4BLUE-RA Developed?
6 Future Trends and Transformations
7 Conclusions
References
Designing Robot Assistance to Optimize Operator Acceptance
1 Short Introduction to CESA
2 Characteristics of an Aeronautical Company Production
3 A4BLUE Project
4 Identifying Users Requirements and Needs
5 Use Case: Manual Deburring of a Titanium Part
6 Solution: A Collaborative Robotic Cell
7 Implementation Process
8 Workers’ Opinions on the Final Robotic Solution
9 Assessment of the Robot
9.1 Participants
9.2 Materials and Analysis
9.3 Procedure
9.4 Results
10 Conclusion
References
The Role of Standards in Human–Robot Integration Safety
1 Introduction
2 Current State
2.1 What Are Industry Standards?
2.2 Important Concepts for Understanding Standards
2.3 History of Standards Development for Industrial Robots
2.4 Philosophies of Standards Development
2.5 Impact of Industry Standards on the Marketplace
2.6 Standards Organizations
2.7 Current Industry Standards Governing Human–Robot Collaboration
2.8 Industry Standards in Development Concerning Industrial HRC
3 Future Trends and Transformations
3.1 Anticipating the Market’s Future Needs for Industry Standards Concerning Industrial HRC
3.2 Technological Trends Likely to Impact Industrial HRC in the Next 5 years
3.3 How Might These Trends Affect Industrial Workplaces, Workforces, Teams, and Individuals?
3.4 How Might These Trends Affect Industrial HRC Standards?
4 Conclusion
References
Engineering a Safe Collaborative Application
1 Collaborative Robots
2 Risk Assessment Strategy
3 Contact Events
4 Contact Thresholds
5 HRC Risk Assessment
6 Design
7 Validation
8 Additional Risk Reduction
9 Conclusion
References
Challenges in the Safety-Security Co-Assurance of Collaborative Industrial Robots
1 Introduction
1.1 General Approaches to Safety and Security
1.2 Illustrative Example: The Cobot
2 Cobot Safety
2.1 Analysing Safety Risks in Cobot Settings
2.2 Handling Safety Risks in Cobot Settings
2.3 Risk Analysis and Handling in a Cobot Example
2.4 Recent Challenges in Cobot Safety
3 Security
3.1 Threat analysis
3.2 Review of Existing Security Approaches
3.3 Application to Cobots
3.4 Challenges for Cobot Security
4 Cobot Co-Assurance
4.1 Socio-technical Challenges
4.2 Technical Challenges
4.3 Conclusion
References
Task Allocation: Contemporary Methods for Assigning Human–Robot Roles
1 Introduction
2 Current State
2.1 Planning Requirements for HRC Environments
2.2 Modeling Aspects of the Planning
2.3 Decision Making Approaches
2.4 Industrial Examples
3 Future Trends and Transformations
3.1 Digital Twins and Task Planning
3.2 AI for Resource Suitability Calculation
3.3 Ergonomy and Safety Considerations in Task Planning
4 Conclusion
References
Implementing Effective Speed and Separation Monitoring with Legacy Industrial Robots—State of the Art, Issues, and the Way Forward
1 Introduction
2 Current State
2.1 Novelty of SSM Standards Specifications
2.2 Difficulties in Implementing SSM in Legacy Robot Control and Safety Architectures
2.3 Issues with Safe Sensing for SSM Implementations
3 Future Trends and Transformations
3.1 New Safety Sensing Architectures
3.2 Safe Vision and Perception Algorithms
3.3 SSM Implementations Using Available Robot Control Functions
3.4 Future Work and Collaboration with Robot Manufacturers
4 Conclusion
References
Ethical Aspects of Human–Robot Collaboration in Industrial Work Settings
1 Introduction
2 Ethics of Collaborative Robots in Industrial Settings: Current State of the Art
3 Identifying Gaps to Address in the Future of Human–Robot Collaboration
3.1 Imposing on Work Routines
3.2 The Need to Focus on Emotions
3.3 Performance Monitoring
3.4 Asymmetry in Power
3.5 Collaborative Robots and Sociotechnical Systems
4 Conclusion
References
Robots and the Workplace: The Contribution of Technology Assessment to Their Impact on Work and Employment
1 Introduction
2 Technology, Robotics and Employment
3 Robotics, Automation and the Task of Technology Assessment
4 Robotics and the Contextual Challenges of Technology Assessment
5 Conclusion
References
