Resilient, Sustainable, and Human-Centric: The Technology of Industry 5.0
Industry 5.0 is the latest industrial revolution, in which the collaboration between humans and technology becomes an integral part of the industrial process. Combining the flexibility of human operators with advanced technology will create sustainable industries that benefit workers, enterprises, and the environment.
Discussions about Industry 5.0 have identified three key pillars—resilience, sustainability, and human-centricity—each of which describes a different benefit.
The first pillar, resilience, describes how human workers bring flexibility to the factory floor. Automation has delivered enormous improvements in manufacturing, working quickly and accurately to increase the output and quality of the production line. However, automated systems are limited in their ability to resolve unusual situations or change roles quickly. In contrast, the human brain can quickly adapt to new circumstances. This brings resilience to the production line by creating flexibility.
The second pillar of Industry 5.0 is sustainability. Businesses are being encouraged to act on sustainability by avoiding waste and efficiently using energy. However, Industry 5.0 also addresses sustainability by considering industry's effects on society, striving to create resilient factories that can contend with the rapidly shifting requirements imposed by a changing world.
The final pillar is human-centricity, which ensures that artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous robots do not replace human workers. Instead, AI, autonomy, and robotic systems are tools that enhance workers' capabilities, freeing them from repetitive or dangerous tasks.
Industry 5.0 also looks to reduce worker fatigue, which causes more than 40 percent of quality issues on the modern production line. [1] It allows workers to deliver the greatest impact by using their individual skills and experience.
Industry 5.0 allows businesses to adopt a strategic view of sustainability to ensure that they can adapt and remain competitive, regardless of how the market evolves. It also rewards businesses that invest in the development and welfare of their human workforce.
Overall, Industry 5.0 blends technology and humanity. To understand how this is implemented and the benefits it will deliver, this article will look at some examples of how human workers will form part of the production line.
Case Study 1: The Crew Chief
Unlike many production lines, which often feature tightly defined functions, logistics is an industry that must handle change quickly and efficiently. For example, in warehouse automation and logistics, robots are employed to pick and sort incoming packages.
To perform this task, the robot combines sensing and motion. A camera images and evaluates all the parcels on the conveyor. In this environment, cycle times are very important; robots may need to handle between 25 and 30 packages per minute. Therefore, imaging must take place in fractions of a second. AI-enhanced edge computing systems enable robots to identify each parcel and decide the correct action.
In a concept known as supervised autonomy, such a system works independently for much of the time, completing most of its operations. However, the sensors may image a scene that they do not recognize. The target might be a new type of packaging or a box that has been damaged in transit. Without human input, the process would stop.
In this scenario, human-centricity in Industry 5.0 offers a clear advantage. A crew chief receives an alert that the system does not recognize a parcel. Though the crew chief works remotely and may be responsible for many machines in several different locations, she can still identify an exception within 10 seconds. With a few keystrokes, the crew chief can instruct the robot on the correct action, and the process can continue, having experienced only a minimal delay.
The unusual package type is then logged into the AI’s database so that the next time the sensors encounter it, the automated process can handle it without requiring human input. Ideally, the number of exceptions should decline over time, but it will never reach zero because shippers are constantly introducing new package types.
Perhaps in the previous scenario, a package that had been shipped in a cardboard box is now shipped in a carton wrapper. In turn, the manufacturer might change to using a bubble pack. The sorting robots must re-learn each new packaging type as it is introduced. In addition, changes such as seasonal wrapping would appear simple to a human, but the change of color can confuse the robot. In each case, a human crew chief can identify and resolve the exception in seconds.
The technology enabling this functionality will be familiar to installers in any modern factory as embedded vision systems are now common. These embedded vision cameras allow automated inspection directly on the production line. The system images every item via a dedicated camera, comparing items' dimensions to standard items in real time. The system can immediately identify faulty items and discard or retain them for further inspection.
By combining embedded vision systems with edge AI, the system can make these decisions quickly, which is vital for the fast-moving and dynamic conditions found in smart factories. These sensors are linked to the network via high-speed connections, whether wired or wireless. Connectors and antennas play an important role in keeping communication latency to a minimum, but humans remain a key component in the network.
Case Study 2: The Enhanced Human
Even with human supervision, situations may arise in which smart factory systems are unable to work autonomously. In dynamic environments, robots cannot replicate the flexibility of a human operator. Vision systems can become confused by uneven lighting changes, and grippers may be unable to handle irregular objects.
To mitigate these problems, organizations may find it more effective to enhance the existing workforce rather than attempting to replicate human characteristics with automation. One option is to augment workers' abilities with mechanical devices such as robotic exoskeletons. These powered devices are worn around the body, matching the actions of wearers as they move. In the process, the exoskeleton’s structure stabilizes the body and captures energy as the user moves. A network of springs and straps that work with the user’s motion reduces workload and fatigue, providing a safer and more efficient workplace.
Exoskeletons allow human capabilities to become part of the production process, using workers' experiences and situational awareness to instinctively react to unexpected situations. A robot faced with similar circumstances might stop production.
While the exoskeleton itself is simple, it can be equipped with additional devices. Sensors that monitor movement and interfaces like augmented reality displays can help the wearer identify fatigue levels or receive instructions about their next scheduled task.
The equipment that enables this level of integration is similar to that of other wearable technology. Small, wearable strain and pressure sensors and accelerometers provide proprioceptive feedback to the user. Vision systems and displays deliver information into the user’s visor or goggles, and advanced human-machine interface (HMI) devices allow the user to interact with other equipment.
Conclusion
The technology that powers Industry 5.0 has much in common with existing applications but offers the ability to integrate humans into the automation environment. Through a combination of strategies, Industry 5.0 will see humans work alongside automation in a supervisory role or even take over from robots when their capabilities become limited.
These strategies will leverage the power of human cognition to understand unstructured situations and augment this with technology that will make the factory of the future more than the sum of its parts.