Even though machines are becoming increasingly important in current production systems, says Alice Kirchheim, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), humans remain a crucial factor. This is precisely where a new flagship project called "Emotion" in, which is now set to be launched.
Photo: IML
A corresponding advisory board meeting took place at the institute at the end of the week, from which the project is to be initiated. The project will investigate how conventional cognitive systems can be supplemented by empathy in order to make human-machine collaboration more resilient and thus more future-proof.
“The goal”says Kirchheim, “is to enable human-machine interaction that feels like good teamwork”For example, empathetic technical systems should be able to support each other and understand the urgency of production processes in order to autonomously adapt planning and control accordingly.
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This will make the collaboration between humans and machines more dynamic and predictable. The advisory board meeting already provided an opportunity to view some demonstrators. Kirchheim stated on social media: "For me, it's clear that the future of logistics depends not only on pure technological developments, but also on how well we adapt technology to people".
