Academic literature on the topic 'Automated operator's workplace'

Continuous improvement of the fleet of technological equipment, in the conditions of existing production, is a difficult task, the solution of which must take into account many parameters, such as mechanization, automation and application of new technologies within the concept of Industry 4.0. One of the effective methods of improving the technical and economic indicators and reliability of production is the modernization of existing technological equipment, which is based on the need to use modern methods of development and implementation of information technology, such as Industrial Internet of Things, cyber-physical production systems. The subject of this study is the testing of methods for developing additive cyber design for automation of complex industrial equipment. The goal of this article is to develop a cyber-physical production control system for the modernization of the DA2238B hydraulic press. To achieve this goal it is necessary to solve the following tasks: to analyze the technical characteristics and control system of the hydraulic press DA2238B; to carry out research of the scheme of hydraulic basic and, taking it into account, to choose sensors and executive mechanisms, and also operating modes; to develop the scheme of inclusion of the hydro equipment; to develop an automated control system based on a modern single-board computer and to develop an intuitive additive cyber-design of the operator interface; to conduct experimental research. Conclusions: as a result of research, a block diagram was developed and an automated control system based on LattePanda was implemented. Selected pressure and temperature sensors for control of pressing processes, which allowed to ensure accurate compliance with the requirements of the technological process. An automated operator's workplace has been developed, in which touch control based on additive cyber-design has been implemented. The developed control system provides: collection and analysis of production data on the basis of which it is possible to improve production technology and to provide forecasting of achievement "Lean Manufacturing".

An analysis is made of the methods for organizing automated workstations of control vehicles from the complex of automated control tools with serial and parallel switching on of control panels of intelligence tools. Structural models of the reliability of workstations have been compiled. The results of the reliability calculation showed that with parallel connection, reliability increases by 1.79 times. It was revealed that for the practical implementation of parallel connection of control panels, it is necessary to improve the algorithm of their work. The improvement consists in the implementation in the control panel of the newly introduced function of restricting access for operators of automated workstations to reconnaissance equipment of control machines. The proposed access control algorithm is developed with full preservation of the functionality of existing control panels.

Recent advances in technology have empowered the widespread application of cyber–physical systems in manufacturing and fostered the Industry 4.0 paradigm. In the factories of the future, it is possible that all items, including operators, will be equipped with integrated communication and data processing capabilities. Operators can become part of the smart manufacturing systems, and this fosters a paradigm shift from independent automated and human activities to human–cyber–physical systems (HCPSs). In this context, a Healthy Operator 4.0 (HO4.0) concept was proposed, based on a systemic view of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and wearable technology. For the implementation of this relatively new concept, we constructed a unified architecture to support the integration of different enabling technologies. We designed an implementation model to facilitate the practical application of this concept in industry. The main enabling technologies of the model are introduced afterward. In addition, a prototype system was developed, and relevant experiments were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system architecture and the implementation framework, as well as some of the derived benefits.

Introduction. The article analyzes and selects the most rational methods for calculating the heat gain from solar radiation. The correct calculation of this component of the heat balance allows you to correctly determine the power of the projected cabin climate system, which will ensure optimal working conditions at the workplace of mobile car operators. Problem Statement. The objective of this study is to analyze and select a rational method for calculating heat gain from solar radiation for the correct determination of the thermal load on the climate system of the cabin of a mobile car. Theoretical Part. To implement the task, the most common methods for calculating solar radiation were described and analyzed in detail and the most accurate ones were recommended. Conclusions. The more labor-intensive method of V.N. Bogoslovskiy (taking into account the time of day) can be recommended for automated calculations in Excel, and the method of P.Y. Gamburg (taking into account the sides of the horizon) — for comparative estimated engineering calculations. When conducting "in-depth" model calculations and accounting for solar radiation, the ASHRAE method is explicitly suitable, which has two important advantages: it takes into account the solar factor in relation to a specific type of glazing and is adapted for automated calculations in ANSYS FLUENT.

Remote operation bears the potential to roll out highly automated vehicles (AVs, SAE Level 4) more safely and quickly. Moreover, legal regulations on highly automated driving, e.g., the current law on highly automated driving (SAE Level 4) in Germany, permit a remote supervisor to monitor and intervene in driving operations remotely in lieu of a safety operator on board AVs. In order to derive requirements for safe and effective remote driving and remote assistance of AVs and to create suitable human-centered design solutions for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that serve this purpose, a set of 74 core scenarios that are likely to occur in public transport AVs under remote operation was compiled. The scenarios were collected in several projects on the remote operation of AVs across a variety of contexts including interviews with and observations of control center staff, video analyses from naturalistic road events, and interviews with safety operators of AVs. A hierarchical system that is based on interactions of central actors was used to structure the scenarios. The set explicates relevant cases in remote operation, which may help improve workplaces for remote operation both by combatting human factors issues such as distraction and fatigue, and by boosting usability, user experience, trust, and acceptance. As the catalogue of scenarios is not exhaustive, scenarios may be added as knowledge of the remote operation of AVs progresses. Further research is needed to validate and adapt the scenarios to specific conceptualizations of remote operations.

Remote operation bears the potential to roll out highly automated vehicles (AVs, SAE Level 4) more safely and quickly. Moreover, legal regulations on highly automated driving, e.g., the current law on highly automated driving (SAE Level 4) in Germany, permit a remote supervisor to monitor and intervene in driving operations remotely in lieu of a safety operator on board AVs. In order to derive requirements for safe and effective remote driving and remote assistance of AVs and to create suitable human-centered design solutions for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that serve this purpose, a set of 74 core scenarios that are likely to occur in public transport AVs under remote operation was compiled. The scenarios were collected in several projects on the remote operation of AVs across a variety of contexts including interviews with and observations of control center staff, video analyses from naturalistic road events, and interviews with safety operators of AVs. A hierarchical system that is based on interactions of central actors was used to structure the scenarios. The set explicates relevant cases in remote operation, which may help improve workplaces for remote operation both by combatting human factors issues such as distraction and fatigue, and by boosting usability, user experience, trust, and acceptance. As the catalogue of scenarios is not exhaustive, scenarios may be added as knowledge of the remote operation of AVs progresses. Further research is needed to validate and adapt the scenarios to specific conceptualizations of remote operations.

Urgency of the research. One of the top trends in the field of mechanical engineering is automation. An inherent part of automation in today's businesses is industrial robots of various categories. In today's industrial production, human and robot are usually separated from each other in order to avoid potential collisions. Continuous development and the growing trend of robotics, in order to increase competitiveness, abandons this individual and isolated robot deployment and prevents group-building of human-robot workplaces. Target setting. The reason for designing industrial robots with capacity around 5-10kg according to human anatomy is that the transition from semi-automated production (operating lines controlled by operators) to fully automated production requires industrial robots that have dimensions similar to human anatomy. Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The current production of robot devices reaches a high technical level, which is further enhanced by the continued development of their subsystems, but also by the upgrading of functional principles and elements that are involved in the architecture and morphology of these devices. The research objective. To what extent is it possible for the work process to be mechanized or automated depends also on the level of development of the used equipment. In today's development stage, design of automated device is also automated. The statement of basic materials: From the point of view of approaching the design of robots systems means a common sign is a mechatronic approach. Robots technical devices are a typical product with all the features of mechatronics (linking knowledge of engineering, management methods and artificial intelligence). This becomes the starting point for the elaboration of the methods of designing robots at all. Conclusions. This article focuses on the design of the robotics devices, whose main task is to perform the assembly. The future of deploying human-robot collaboration has enormous boundaries and many variables that still need to be addressed. It is important to remember that this technology is not about replacing people with robots. Rather, it is about using robust human features and robot strengths to achieve a new level of efficiency and productivity that could not be achieved by self-employment.

Automation that supports our workplaces is intended to relieve the requirement for humans to control tasks, as a way to reduce operator workload and maximize system capacity. Researchers have long recognized the potential costs associated with automation. These costs include the loss of an operator’s understanding of a task and an inability to anticipate future task events ( situation awareness; SA; Endsley, 1995) that can occur due to automation induced complacency (Parasuraman, Molloy, & Singh, 1993), and the subsequent lack of ability to regain manual control after automation (Kaber & Endsley, 2004). These costs to automation are more likely to occur when the degree of automation (DOA) increases. DOA has been defined based on whether automation is doing more or less ‘work’ ( levels of automation; Sheridan & Verplank, 1978), and at which of the four stages of human information processing the automation is directed; information acquisition, information analysis, decision selection, and action implementation ( stages of automation; Parasuraman, Sheridan, & Wickens, 2000). As the DOA increases, performance and workload tend to improve. However, SA and return-to-manual performance can decline. Recent research by Chen, Huf, Visser, and Loft (2017) reported that a low DOA had minimal benefits to performance and workload, and also impaired SA and non-automated task performance compared to a manual control condition in a simulated submarine track management task. However, the low DOA did not lead to any return-to-manual deficits when automation was unexpectedly removed. The current study compared the effects of low and high DOA on operator performance, workload, SA, non-automated task performance, and return-to-manual performance in submarine track management. Participants ( N= 122) monitored a tactical display that presented the location and heading of contacts in relation to the Ownship and landmarks, and a ‘waterfall’ display that presented sonar bearings of contacts and how those bearings change with time. Participants performed three tasks: classification, closest point of approach (CPA), and dive. The classification task involved classifying contacts depending on how long they had spent within display regions. The CPA task involved monitoring changes in contact heading to determine their closest point of approach to the Ownship. The dive task involved integrating contact location and heading information to determine when the submarine could safely dive. Automated assistance was provided for the classification and CPA tasks, but not for the dive task. The low DOA condition received information acquisition and analysis support (stages 1 and 2), whereas the high DOA received decision selection support (stage 3). In a mixed design, the between-subjects factor was condition (no automation, high DOA, low DOA) and the within-subjects factor was automation state (routine, automation removal). Participants completed three track management scenarios, and during the last scenario the automation was unexpectedly removed. Firstly, we predicted that a high DOA would have larger benefits to performance and workload compared to a low DOA, but that these benefits might be accompanied by costs to SA, non-automated task performance, and return-to-manual performance. Secondly, we predicted that a low DOA would show minimal benefits to performance and workload, significant costs to SA and non-automated task performance, and no effect on return-to-manual performance when compared to no automation, thus replicating the findings of Chen et al. (2017). The results from this study indicated that relative to the low DOA condition, participants provided with high DOA support had better performance and lower workload, without any further costs to SA, non-automated task performance, or return-to-manual performance. Furthermore, relative to no automation, participants provided with low DOA support only had minor benefits to performance (replicating Chen et al., 2017) and no benefits to workload, and significant costs to SA and non-automated task performance. In summary, the high DOA produced larger benefits to performance and workload than the low DOA, without increasing costs. In light of these results, the automated system that recommended decisions was effectively utilized by operators in the current context, and appeared to be superior to the automated system that supported information acquisition and analysis.

Introduction. The modern stage of development of electronics is characterized by the widespread use of integrated circuits (IC). Assessment of working conditions in a promising, developing production of electronic components with hygienic positions is an urgent task.The aim of the study is to conduct a hygienic assessment of working conditions of workers in the main professions in the production of IC.Materials and methods. Hygienic research conducted at three modern enterprises for the production of chips and semiconductor devices, included the study of the conditions and nature of work of workers in the main professions. 215 chemical analyses for the content of harmful substances were carried out in order to assess the air environment and 270 measurements of the levels of physical factors at 18 workplaces.Results. Findings of hygienic assessment of working conditions for employees engaged in manufacture of microcircuits: operators of chemical processing, precision photolithography (PPL), diffusion processes, vacuum deposition, and IMC assemblers are reported. Based on the analysis of the technological process and the list of materials used and time-study data, the studies of workplace air pollution, sound levels, artificial lighting, microclimate parameters (temperature, humidity, air velocity), working process parameters were carried out. The jobs in which work is characterized by toxic chemicals exposure, precision visual operations using optical instruments during 55% of the shift were singled out. Priority occupational health risk factors for workers employed in modern IMC production and main areas of working environment optimization were revealed.Conclusions. Based on the conducted hygienic studies, musculoskeletal system load combined with visual strain were found to be the priority occupational health risk factors for microcircuit production workers. Manual operations taking up a significant part of the working process and introduction of automated IMC technological processes being insufficient, preventive measures should be aimed at organizing a rational working regime that provides reducing of visual strain and musculoskeletal system load.

Проєкт містить 60 с. тексту, 33 рисунка, 2 таблиці, посилання на 26 літературних джерел та 4 конструкторських документи. Об’єктом керування є параметри киснево-конвертного виготовлення сталі. Предметом дослідження є система киснево-конвертної обробки сталі. Метою дипломного проєкту є створення автоматизованої системи регулювання параметрами киснево-конвертного виготовлення сталі, створити програмні моделі об’єкта управління та контролера та забезпечити контроль за протіканням даного процесу. У дипломному проєкті розроблено систему управління параметрами киснево-конвертерного виготовлення сталі. На протязі виконання роботи, було розглянута її актуальність, та галузь застосування. Також були оглянуті можливі рішення і на основі їх, а також навичкам, здобутим за час навчання, було обґрунтовані, та вибрані методи для досягнення мети, створені структурна та функціональна схеми, програма управління та автоматизоване робоче місце оператора. Також, був обґрунтований вибір з’єднання між елементами автоматизованої системи. Отримані результати, можуть бути корисними при автоматизації подібних об’єктів, допрацювання та встановлення їх на реальні об’єкти по виробництву сталі.
The project contains 60 pages of text, 33 figures, 2 table, links to 26 literary sources and 4 design documents. The object of control is the parameters of oxygen-envelope steel production. The subject of the research is the oxygen-envelope steel processing system. The purpose of the diploma project is to create an automated control system for the parameters of oxygen-envelope steel production, to create software models of the control object and the controller and to provide control over the process.. In the diploma project the control system of parameters of oxygen-converter production of steel is developed. During the implementation of the work, its relevance and scope were considered. Possible solutions were also reviewed and based on them, as well as skills acquired during training, were substantiated and selected methods to achieve the goal, created structural and functional schemes, management program and automated operator's workplace. Also, the choice of connection between the elements of the automated system was justified. The obtained results can be useful in the automation of such objects, refinement and installation of them on real objects for steel production.

Decarbonisation of the energy sector is a crucial ambition towards meeting net-zero targets and achieving climate change mitigation. Heating and cooling accounts for over a third of UK greenhouse emissions and, thus, decarbonisation of this sector has attracted significant attention from a range of stakeholders, including energy system operators, manufacturers, research institutions and policy makers. Particularly, the role of district heating and cooling (DHC) systems will be critical, as these two energy vectors are central to our lives not only for comfort and daily activities, but also to facilitate productive workplaces and to run a variety of industrial processes. The optimal operation of DHC systems and the design of efficient strategies to produce heat and cold, store thermal energy, and meet heating and cooling demands, together with an increased integration of low carbon technologies and local renewable energy sources, are vital to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions alike. This chapter reviews relevant aspects of DHC systems, their main elements, automatic control systems and optimal management.

Abstract Collaborative robotics, or Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), is a challenging topic characterized by multidisciplinary approaches. Many researchers are facing this innovative manufacturing system studying several aspects such as task allocation, facility layout problem and timing. Above all, one of the most important issues in collaborative robotics is the wellbeing of the operator collaborating with the robot system during the different phases of the process. The added value of a collaborative workplace respect to the manual and automatic workplaces is strictly correlated to a safe and ergonomic interaction between the operator and the robot. Indeed, the combination of robot and operator skills lead to a higher level of accuracy and flexibility. Thus, assessing operator’s working conditions requires the acquisition, eventually in real time, of relevant parameters such as posture, movements, and interactive tasks. This may require the adoption of existing metrics proposed by standard evaluation guidelines, as well as the introduction of new or modified prescription to consider the presence of the robot. The ergonomics analysis in collaborative robotics is evaluated by considering both physical and cognitive aspects of the operator during the interaction with the robot. The research work aims to carry out a scientific bibliometric literature review (BLR) about the ergonomics analysis of collaborative workplaces, and to identify methods and tools for the physical and cognitive ergonomics assessment that can be adopted in collaborative robotics. The search has been accomplished using the Scopus database by means of a set of key words specifically defined to investigate the ergonomics in the collaborative robotics. The review provides a sharp classification, a critical analysis of the most relevant contributions in this field so that emerging trends for future development can be defined and discussed.

Abstract Portable manipulators are installed for operation and then removed upon completion of their task. Typical applications of portable manipulators include the inspection of nuclear reactors, inspection and repair of nuclear steam generators and asbestos removal in buildings. In such operations, it is difficult to precisely position the manipulator at a fixed location within its workplace, yet this is critical for accurate tool positioning. It can be possible, however, to position the tool tip at several points in the environment using video feedback and manual operator control of the manipulator. This provides sufficient information to determine the position and orientation of the manipulator base frame with respect to the environment, hereafter referred to as extrinsic calibration. Following extrinsic calibration, subsequent moves of the manipulator can be automated. This paper describes a closed-form method for performing extrinsic calibration by contacting the tool to a total of six places on three orthogonal plane surfaces of reference.