Development of Modular and Adaptive Laboratory Set-Up for Neuroergonomic and Human-Robot Interaction Research

Abstract

The industry increasingly insists on academic cooperation to solve the identified problems such as workers' performance, wellbeing, job satisfaction, and injuries. It causes an unsafe and unpleasant working environment that directly impacts the quality of the product, workers' productivity, and effectiveness. This study aimed to give a specialized solution for tests and explore possible solutions to the given problem in neuroergonomics and human–robot interaction. The designed modular and adaptive laboratory model of the industrial assembly workstation represents the laboratory infrastructure for conducting advanced research in the field of ergonomics, neuroergonomics, and human–robot interaction. It meets the operator's anatomical, anthropometric, physiological, and biomechanical characteristics. Comparing standard, ergonomic, guided, and collaborative work will be possible based on workstation construction and integrated elements. These possibilities allow the industry to try, analyze, and get answers for an identified problem, the condition, habits, and behavior of operators in the workplace. The set-up includes a workstation with an industry work chair, a Poka–Yoke system, adequate lighting, an audio 5.0 system, containers with parts and tools, EEG devices (a cap and smartfones), an EMG device, touchscreen PC screen, and collaborative robot. The first phase of the neuroergonomic study was performed according to the most common industry tasks defined as manual, monotonous, and repetitive activities. Participants have a task to assemble the developed prototype model of an industrial product using prepared parts and elements, and instructed by the installed touchscreen PC. In the beginning, the participant gets all the necessary information about the experiment and gets 15 min of practice. After the introductory part, the EEG device is mounted and prepared for recording. The experiment starts with relaxing music for 5 min. The whole experiment lasts two sessions per 60 min each, with a 15 min break between the sessions. Based on the first experiments, it is possible to develop, construct, and conduct complex experiments for industrial purposes to improve the physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects and increase workers' productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. It has highlighted the possibility of applying modular and adaptive ergonomic research laboratory experimental set-up to transform standard workplaces into the workplaces of the future.

Experimental Analysis of Handcart Pushing and Pulling Safety in an Industrial Environment by Using IoT Force and EMG Sensors: Relationship with Operators’ Psychological Status and Pain Syndromes

“…Additionally, innovative methods such as the use of brain–computer interface (BCI), EEG-based attention test with CPT and TOVA, and eye-tracking systems could be helpful to further examine attention levels [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. To enhance safety, industrial workplaces of the future will rely on the integration of new industry 4.0 technologies: Safety 4.0 [ 44 , 45 ], Quality 4.0 [ 46 ], Logistics 4.0 [ 47 ], and collaborative robotics, especially from the perspective of ergonomics [ 48 ] and neuroergonomics [ 49 ].…”

Visual Mental Workload Assessment from EEG in Manual Assembly Task

“…The experiment was conducted in a controlled environment, in a modular and adaptive laboratory set-up of the industrial assembly workstation described in Savković et al 2022. A total of 32 participants were recorded.…”

Framework of a Neuroergonomic Assessment in Human-Robot Collaboration

“…The experiments were set up in the modular industrial assembly workstation designed for neuroergonomic experiments based at the laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Serbia (FINK) in collaboration with Mbtrain company, Belgrade, Serbia (Savkovic et al, 2022). The participants were University scholars from FINK selected by an open-voluntarily application form, with no previous experience in a HRC application.…”