EU INCLUSIVE - SF research project

Modern manufacturing systems are becoming increasingly complex due to the increased demand for high production rates combined with high quality and flexibility, i.e. the ability to adapt production systems to constantly changing market demands. Despite the high degree of automation of machines and robots, people remain at the heart of the production process, as they control and monitor production. Human operators interact with machines and robots using human-machine interfaces (HMIs), which inevitably become more complex as new functions are implemented by the production system and involve a wide range of working modes and instructions. In this scenario, operators encounter many difficulties in interacting efficiently with the machine; this is especially the case for middle-aged workers who feel uncomfortable interacting with a complex computer system and for young inexperienced and disabled people who cannot operate such complex production systems efficiently.

The INCLUSIVE project aimed to close the growing gap between the complexity of the machines and the skills of the users by developing an intelligent and innovative HMI that takes into account the skills of the workers and the flexibility required by compensating for their limitations (e.g. due to age or inexperience) and taking advantage of their experience.

To achieve this, the HMI system developed must first be able to measure a reasonable cognitive load on the worker and their ability to manage the automation tasks in co-operation with the production system. Furthermore, it must be able to adapt the automation functions and the amount of information of the production system to the measured abilities of the operator. In addition, the HMI must support and train less skilled operators to manage complex automation tasks appropriately, also by integrating a virtual environment and an industrial social network.

The aim of the project was to ensure the greatest possible acceptance of workers by creating an inclusive working environment and productivity for new automated production systems. In the 36-month EU project, Software Factory worked closely with 10 partners (universities and companies from industry and software development) across Europe.

Find out more about the success of the research project in a series of exciting videos, from interviews to demo cases.