SAFEIVERSE: Inclusive Robotics
Duration:
08/2024
—
07/2026
Total Time:
2 Years
Expanding job opportunities for people with disabilities, Photo: JOANNEUM RESEARCH
The Project
How can robotics contribute to inclusion in the workplace?
Human-robot collaboration (HRC) makes it possible to improve monotony and ergonomics in the workplace, thereby increasing well-being and productivity. HRC also offers potential for expanding work opportunities for people with disabilities through appropriate support and compensation. However, the challenge here is safe implementation while taking diversity into account. However, current safety requirements and design aspects of collaborative robot (MRK) technology are geared towards people without disabilities. SAFEIVERSE is therefore developing a diversity-oriented design and safety concept for MRK to make this technology more accessible.
Our activities within the project
As part of the project, which is under the overall project management of JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS, JOANNEUM RESEARCH POLICIES is responsible for the social science support. To this end, we conduct interviews with users and identify their requirements and where they see room for improvement. We use the findings to develop specific proposals for optimisation. In this way, we incorporate the users’ perspective right from the development stage and help ensure that the design and safety concept is tailored to the needs of the people who work with HRC.
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Sponsors
KWF - Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds
Project Partners
JOANNEUM RESEARCH POLICIES
JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS
Project Details
With the development of a diversity-orientated design and safety concept for human-robot collaborations, SAFEIVERSE aims to create inclusion in robotics. Carinthia is to play a pioneering role in demonstrating how working conditions and opportunities for people with disabilities can be improved and expanded in order to increase social and economic sustainability.
What is the background?
Industrial production is increasingly moving away from purely automated systems towards flexible, human-centred, sustainable solutions. Human-robot collaboration (HRC), in particular, enables robots to support people through direct cooperation, thereby creating versatile and adaptive working conditions. Within industry, the benefits and potential of human-centred, flexible HRC applications are already well known and, in some cases, have already been implemented. However, this gives rise to new challenges in ensuring personal safety. Current design principles and safety requirements for such applications are based on people without disabilities and take little account of diversity, particularly as historical experience in development and evaluation has stemmed from a male-dominated manufacturing environment. For example, no distinction is made between biological sexes when it comes to pain thresholds for body parts struck in the event of potential contact between humans and robots, and the physical and cognitive capabilities of people with disabilities are not taken into account.
At the same time, HRC applications offer great potential for supporting people with disabilities in the workplace. Through the targeted use of robots, barriers can be removed and additional tasks made accessible. The potential of HRC therefore also lies in the creation of diverse and inclusive workplaces. By developing a diversity-oriented design and safety concept for human-robot collaboration, SAFEIVERSE aims to foster inclusion in robotics.
SAFEIVERSE is an example of the successful synergy between two institutes at JOANNEUM RESEARCH: JOANNEUM RESEARCH ROBOTICS develops the design and safety concept, whilst JOANNEUM RESEARCH POLICIES contributes the users’ perspective. We would like to thank Sepin Orthopädietechnik Sanitätshaus GmbH and Lebenshilfe Kärnten for their valuable support, and autArK for their trusting collaboration.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Sepin Orthopädietechnik Sanitätshaus GmbH and to Lebenshilfe Kärnten for their valuable support, as well as to autArK for their trustful cooperation.
Project Participants
