Smart solution to support human-robot collaboration
Industry 5.0 goes beyond Industry 4.0’s automation of individual robots and a focus on productivity and efficiency to an approach based on human-robot collaboration. This human-centric paradigm still contributes to industry’s bottom line but also reinforces industry’s ability to contribute to society. Collaborative robots, also called cobots, are designed to work safely with human operators without conventional safety fences. They will form the foundation of Industry 5.0. The EU-funded SHAREWORK project, part of the Effective Industrial Human-Robot Collaboration cluster of projects, developed a solution to support them. It comprises 14 hardware and software modules that have been validated in four industrial manufacturing use cases.
Collaborative robots: perception, mobility, safety and communication
“SHAREWORK merged robotics, AI and the social sciences to bridge the gap between manual and fully automated tasks, combining the accuracy, repeatability and efficiency capabilities of robots with the intelligence and flexibility of humans,” explains Néstor García of the Eurecat Technology Centre of Catalonia, technical project coordinator. The consortium’s modular solutions integrate perception, motion planning, safety and communication. They enable collaborative robots to ‘cognitively’ assess their environment and respond to it. The robots can detect and respond to the operator’s presence and movement in real time; perform human-aware dynamic planning and scheduling; and navigate their environments safely. They even adjust themselves to ensure proper workers’ posture. An operator training module harnessing augmented reality develops operators’ technical capabilities and fosters acceptance.
Human-robot collaboration in action: four industrial manufacturing use cases
Robots with integrated SHAREWORK modules shone in preassembly and assembly processes. One of the solutions assisted during the repetitive riveting tasks for the preassembly of tram metal door and window frames. The human-robot collaboration decreased assembly time while enhancing human welfare. Another supported the multistep assembly of large, heavy, metal positioning equipment, normally done manually. It was able to understand and respond intelligently to the operator’s intentions through advanced gesture recognition. Car manufacturing received help from SHAREWORK’s modules integrated into a high-payload robot that carried, positioned and held heavy car doors and hoods while an operator executed their assembly/disassembly for painting. Finally, SHAREWORK’s collaborative robots worked with humans to move highly varied metal parts between storage and machining, understanding the worker’s behaviour and anticipating tasks to move seamlessly about the factory floor.
A more sustainable, human-centric and resilient manufacturing industry
The key to widespread adoption of human-robot collaboration is worker acceptance. SHAREWORK followed a cocreation approach including end users in early development stages. Beyond their benefits for products and companies, collaborative robotics can relieve workers of dangerous, repetitive tasks and their psychological effects and associated injuries, while opening the door to added-value jobs. Further, having robots literally share the load enhances job inclusivity by removing physical barriers. “The use of collaborative robotics and advanced digital technologies in industrial environments strengthens European industry, paving the way to sustainable, human centric and resilient manufacturing production lines. Involving human resources in co-creation allows for smoother technology adoption and greater inclusivity and gender equality,” concludes project coordinator Simona Neri of the Eurecat Technology Centre of Catalonia. Anyone interested in learning more about human-robot collaboration and SHAREWORK outcomes can take part in one of five open training courses created by the SHAREWORK consortium.
Keywords
SHAREWORK, robot, human-robot collaboration, assembly, collaborative robots, manufacturing, Industry 5.0, robotics, augmented reality, cobot, mechatronics