User Centered Design of a Cyber-physical Support Solution for Assembly Processes

Human-machine cooperation in assembly processes will further increase in the course of the fourth industrial revolution, where digitalization entails many chances for improvement. Not only on the machine perspective – where most of the current developments in this field focus on – but also for the workers, which still play a central role while having to face rising requirements. Many workers are not aware of ergonomics. Therefore the user centered design process (UCDP) was used to develop a support solution that gives workers feedback on ergonomics during the assembly process. The concept is based on the idea to use sensors available in everyday-life technology like smartphones and –watches to track limb positions in real-time and notify the worker if he or she is not acting ergonomically. The corresponding App, currently available as digital interactive prototype, also gives advice about possible measures. The UCDP featured several iterations with user studies and expert evaluations to ensure high user friendliness.