New European robots called COBOTS may become the best buddies of employees.
Fears that robots will displace workers and increase unemployment have made the introduction of robots to the workplace a subject of societal unease for decades. The situation is shifting now that increasingly advanced and lifelike robots are really being developed, with some people now viewing robots as promising teammates rather than unwanted rivals. Consider the Comau industrial automation company in Italy. It has created a robot that can cooperate with employees in stringent cleanroom environments in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, electronics, food, and beverage industries, improving their safety. The new technology is referred to as a “collaborative robot,” or “cobot.”
When a person enters the work area, Comau’s arm-like cobot, which is intended for handling and assembly duties, may immediately change from an industrial to a slower speed. One robot can now be employed in place of two, increasing productivity and safeguarding workers. By enabling a dual mode of operation, it has advanced things, according to Dr. Sotiris Makris, a roboticist at the University of Patras in Greece. When it is in collaborative mode, the worker can take it and move it around as a helper. Alternatively, it can be used as a standard robot. Makris served as the project coordinator for the recently concluded, EU-funded SHERLOCK project, which investigated novel approaches for securely fusing human and robot capabilities from what it considered to be a frequently underappreciated research perspective: psychological and social well-being.
SHERLOCK also looked at the possibility of using intelligent exoskeletons to help employees lift and handle large objects in settings like workshops, warehouses, or assembly lines. Artificial intelligence (AI) was utilized to track and monitor human movement. The hope is that with this input, the exoskeleton can adjust to the demands of the particular task while assisting workers in maintaining an optimal posture to prevent harm.
Makris refers to the humanoid robots being created by Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors. Exoskeleton suits, wearable robotics, and bionic limbs are further technologies under development that aim to improve workers’ abilities at work. Robotics can benefit society by performing boring, repetitive chores, freeing up employees to do more creative work. Additionally, organizations could become more accessible by assisting persons with impairments thanks to robotic technologies that can efficiently interact with employees. Greater industrial efficiency has economic benefits in addition to the social one, demonstrating that none need necessarily come at the expense of the other. Even so, there are significant obstacles to overcome in order to ensure that robotics are successfully incorporated into the workplace and that workers’ unique needs are satisfied while interacting with them.
Software that permits “smart-shift scheduling,” which assigns duty periods to employees depending on their individual circumstances, was one such field. It has been demonstrated that the method helps social welfare and healthcare personnel with their levels of stress, sleep difficulties, and sick days. Prof. Jacucci praised the study as “a terrific illustration of how workability improves when we employ evidence-based understanding of how to build well-informed schedules.” According to him, the future of seamlessly integrated robotics and digital technologies depends on putting the individual first. Let’s imagine you need to work with a robot to complete an assembly operation, he said. Should the robot be aware of my cognitive and other capacities, asks the inquiry. And how should we assign the two of them the task? The project’s main takeaway is that there is much of space to enhance and diversify working conditions. It demonstrates how much potential is still unrealized, according to Prof. Jacucci.
The project team created an adaptable workstation with a cobot to help people with assembly activities like putting together a phone, automobile, or toy, or, really, any combination of separate components into a finished product during manufacture. The workstation’s lighting and workbench height can be adjusted to a user’s height and vision. Additionally, it has features like eye-tracking glasses to assess mental workload. Professor Giulio Jacucci, coordinator of CO-ADAPT and a computer scientist at the University of Helsinki in Finland, stated it gives deeper insight into what all types of individuals need.
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