Human-robot interaction
Aquias' research project launched
The kick-off event for the 'Aquias' research project took place at the Fraunhofer IAO on February 2 and 3. Its aim is to enable broad groups of employees to participate in attractive work in human-robot collaboration.
The 'Aquias' project is taking a special approach to achieve its goal: in the first of the two pilot areas, the mobile production assistant 'Apas assistant' from Robert Bosch is being used in the integration company Isak. In this company, severely disabled production employees with very individual performance restrictions work in assembly. "The aim is to tailor the robot so specifically to the support needs of the individual employees that they can perform higher-value tasks," explains David Kremer, who is leading the project at the Fraunhofer IAO. A win-win situation for both the employees and the integration company, which can secure jobs for its severely disabled employees thanks to the higher revenue.
In the second pilot area, Robert Bosch is using the mobile production assistant to test different forms of division of labor between humans and robots. Transitions in work organization are developed and discussed with those involved. The target group is associates without performance restrictions. The experiences from the first pilot area with severely disabled employees at Isak will also be incorporated here.
In order for severely disabled employees to benefit from the future opportunities of the new robotics solutions, the interface between robots and humans must be adapted. Tools, data displays and work processes need to be reconsidered, as do questions of user behavior and occupational safety. "In 'Aquias', we want to learn from the severely disabled employees how human-robot interaction can be improved. The requirements that a production assistant has to fulfill appear as if magnified through a magnifying glass," says Wolfgang Pomrehn, project manager at Bosch. In the long term, associates without disabilities should also benefit from the extended support offered by mobile production assistants.
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