Towards Realizing Collaborative Systems to Enable Telework in Part Manufacturing

Abstract

Part manufacturing is an important aspect of industrial production where automation allows a range of manufacturing processes to be completed without the need for manual human activities. Still, human tasks are essential to maintain consistent functioning and part quality. Thus, part production is vulnerable to reduced workforce restrictions (e.g., pandemics). Several technologies, like remote assistance and teleoperation, have the potential to enable new forms of collaboration based on interactive systems. We argue that, given the high complexity of the collaborations, high usability must be the primary priority during design. Research is needed to investigate how Human-Centered Design (HCD) might be used to build and implement collaborative systems that allow telework in complex industrial environments to deal with workforce reductions caused by pandemics or personnel shortages. Ultimately, the target should be a system that uses technology (e.g. Augmented Reality, AR) across devices and user types to counteract productivity and quality problems in reduced workforce situations.