PhD Project Introductions
Australian Cobotics Centre
ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Collaborative Robotics in Advanced Manufacturing
We always appreciate hearing from our PhD researchers about what they want to achieve through their research.
Our routine internal seminar series offers them an opportunity to present their ongoing work, discuss their methodologies, and outline their anticipated results, all while benefiting from diverse viewpoints.
During our latest seminar session, Eleonora Zodo , Justin Botha Danial Rizvi introduced their respective projects.
PROJECT 2.1: ROBOTIC INTENTION VISUALISATION
Complex working environments characterized by high-stake tasks and by the occurrence of unforeseen events pose challenges to the introduction of robotic systems for the automation of complex procedures. The next frontier of robotics is Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), rather than full automation (Johansen et al., 2022). A tighter integration of robots in the workplace innovative ideas to effectively reconfigure practices without compromising the correct execution of work routines and thus disrupt productivity. To sustain the practice of human teams, the design of robotic systems should follow a user-centered approach that takes in account contextual factors and the characteristics of its end users.
This calls for deeper investigation of how the features of robotic platforms are determined, looking at the display of robotic output at the level of human-machine interface. The signaling of robotic intention should reflect the internal state of the technology in a transparent and unequivocal way and accommodate for contingent needs of the receiver. Conveying a correct mental model of how the technology functions, would improve the sense of control of users and encourage them to adopt robots as reliable co-workers.
The specific focus of Project 2.1 is on the representation of robotic intentions in the design of custom Human-Machine Interfaces to enable the collaboration between human and robots to jointly complete high-stake tasks in complex environments. The ultimate scientific purpose is the augmentation of the human workforce by adopting a human-centered approach to automation, thus involving end-users all along the design process.?
Research activities
This PhD addresses the lack of studies exploring robot communication in-the-wild to test the feasibility of signaling modalities in relation to situational constraints (Walker et al., 2018). Inspired by the StEER method (Pelikan, Porfirio, & Winkle, 2023) a Research-Through-(Participatory) Design approach will be adopted. The final goal is to develop potential configurations of a user-centered and context-sensitive Human-Machine Interface and compare their usability by conducting mixed-methods user testing.
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Follow this project's progress here: Project 2.1: Robotic Intention visualisation ? Australian Cobotics Centre | ARC funded ITTC for Collaborative Robotics in Advanced Manufacturing
PROJECT 3.7: COLLABORATIVE ROBOT ADOPTION ACROSS INDUSTRIES
The Australian manufacturing sector has so far made very limited use of collaborative robots (cobots), despite their potential to augment human capabilities and improve safety and efficiency. We propose to examine other industries across Australia to identify to what extent they have adopted cobots. We would seek to identify the drivers of adoption, along with barriers to it, and how any such barriers were overcome. To what extent have these various industries adapted their processes to accommodate cobot technology, and what was required for them to do this? What (re)-training was required for workers? How specific or generalisable are the required skills? An economic framework would consider similarities and differences across sectors, including firm size and market structure. We would also seek to build on an emerging collaboration between CSIRO and Siemens in Germany to ask the same questions of the German manufacturing industry. This knowledge would then be applied (and shared via publication) to consider what pathways and processes would help Australia’s manufacturing industry realise the opportunities of cobotics.
The project will be part of the Data61’s collaborative intelligence (CINTEL) Future Science Platform (FSP) that will develop the science that enables human intelligence and technology to work together across multiple domains, driving sustainable productivity growth and improving both the quantity and quality of jobs for human workers.
Follow this project's progress here: Project 3.7: Collaborative robot adoption across industries ? Australian Cobotics Centre | ARC funded ITTC for Collaborative Robotics in Advanced Manufacturing
PROJECT 4.4: DATA ANALYTICS AND PROCESS VALIDATION OF COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS AND AUTOMATED PROCESSES
Automated and collaborative robotic enabled processes naturally generate data. The validation, intentional use, and interrogation of this data can be leveraged to support quality assurance and process reliability, or to detect anomalies and ensure appropriate health and safety actions. Such data can also be used to refine the operation of a digital twin or be cross-checked against an operational twin in order to detect anomalies.
This Project will determine general and use-case specific methods for leveraging instrumented processes. General methods will promote rapid deployment to a wide range of applications and use-case specific methods will provide detailed solutions to industry traceability and reporting needs.
The role of digital twins in process validation and documentation will also be investigated.