Production logistics and human-computer interaction—state-of-the-art, challenges and requirements for the future

Abstract

Current concept, development, and testing applications in production concerning Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Industry 4.0 (I40), and Internet of Things (IoT) are mainly addressing fully autonomous systems, fostered by an increase in available technologies regarding distributed decision-making, sensors, and actuators for robotics systems. This is applied also to production logistics settings with a multitude of transport tasks, e.g., between warehousing or material supply stations and production locations within larger production sites as for example in the automotive industry. In most cases, mixed environments where automated systems and humans collaborate (e.g., cobots) are not in the center of analysis and development endeavors although the worker's adoption and acceptance of new technologies are of crucial relevance. From an interdisciplinary research perspective, this constitutes an important research gap, as the future challenges for successful automated systems will rely mainly on human-computer interaction (HCI) in connection with an efficient collaboration between motivated workers, automated robotics, and transportation systems. We develop a HCI efficiency description in production logistics based on an interdisciplinary analysis consisting of three interdependent parts: (i) a production logistics literature review and process study, (ii) a computer science literature review and simulation study for an existing autonomous traffic control algorithm applicable to production logistics Purpose This paper addresses three approaches determined to analyze the crucial role of human interaction in automated environments in production logistics and Industry 4.0 settings. The methods stem from different disciplines as successful automation concepts also have to consider computer science, economics and work science perspectives. Contribution We answer the question of human intuition and its development within a digitalized production logistics setting as well as automated algorithm reaction to human actions from an interdisciplinary perspective. So far, existing research contributions are mainly focusing on technical aspects and automation concepts as solely computer science optimization aspects. However, feasible and sustainable concepts for automated production, e.g., within production transport will only work out if the human factor is included as for a long time to come production environments will be mixed settings of robotics and human workers. Thus, we develop a HCI efficiency description in production logistics for future research and business applications.

Human-centred design in industry 4.0: case study review and opportunities for future research

“…This phenomenon is blurring the limits of where the human ends and technology starts (Frauenberger, 2019 ; Gervasi et al, 2020 ; Weichhart et al, 2019 ; Wojtynek et al, 2019 ). Moreover, recent research tends to focus on technical aspects instead of tackling existing problems related to error-prone interaction between human and non-human actors (Klumpp et al, 2019 ; Song et al, 2016 ).…”

“…This is manifest in the substantial body of literature providing signposts of theoretical frameworks and models, implementation methodologies, and case studies in cross-disciplinary contexts. The scope of the research is extensive: customer-centric business models associated with customer involvement in design (Adrodegari & Saccani, 2020 ; Grieger & Ludwig, 2019 ; Saha et al, 2020 ; Santos et al, 2018 ); smart design engineering in which the users and emotional interactions are empowered (Benabdellah et al, 2019 ; Pereira Pessôa & Jauregui Becker, 2020 ); technology design in which users are centred (Chen & Duh, 2019 ; Rogers et al, 2019 ); interaction designs among operators and smart manufacturing components (Klumpp et al, 2019 ; Rossi & Di Nicolantonio, 2020 ); human-centred designs for product development (Chen et al, 2016 ; Wu et al, 2013 ); data processing by which humans remain the first design consideration of a data-driven approach (Crabtree & Mortier, 2015 ; Victorelli et al, 2020b ); sustainability in social-technical manufacturing contexts, including social robotic interactions with humans (Bednar & Welch, 2020 ; Leng & Jiang, 2017 ; Richert et al, 2018 ; Streitz, 2019 ).…”

Intralogistik im Zeitalter des digitalen Wandels: Arbeitsanforderungen und psychische Beanspruchung in der Kommissionierung am Beispiel eines Unternehmens aus dem E-Commerce-Bereich

“…Klumpp et al. ( 2019 ) machen deutlich, dass die größte Herausforderung darin besteht, die Mensch-Technik Interaktion so zu gestalten, dass Beschäftigte und automatisierte Systeme in der Logistik effektiv kollaborieren. Die Autoren sehen die Akzeptanz der Beschäftigten, die Intuition, die Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion sowie Konzepte wie die Selbstwirksamkeit, als zentrale Faktoren für die zukünftige Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Logistik-Unternehmen.…”

Process Efficiency Analysis of Selected Automotive Companies in Europe

“…The Czech Republic is currently one of many countries, which depend on oil supplies. In respect of the worldwide efforts to increase the use of renewables and to free a country from dependency on the global power of oilexporting countries, it is possible to establish relations with other countries having a similar environmental policy in the future [45]. It is also safe to predict that countries, which are striving to transform the use of fossil fuels to a large extent already today, will gain a great advantage in the form of decentralised power since in most countries the level of availability of renewables is different.…”