The A4BLUE (Adaptive Automation in Assembly for BLUE collar workers satisfaction in Evolvable context) project, funded by the European Commission under the European H2020 Research and Innovation Program, has just been launched.
Ciaotech srl is part of a first-class international consortium led by IK4-TEKNIKER (Spain) and involving prestigious universities such as RWTH Aachen University (Germany) and Cranfield University (UK) and companies such as AIRBUS Operation SAS (France), Compañía Española de Sistemas Arenonauticos - CESA (Spain), Engineering-Ingenieria Informática SPA (Italy), Illogic Societa'a Respponsabilita'Limitata (Italy) and Ingeniería de Automatización y Robótica KOMAT SL (Spain).
Currently, sectors such as aerospace, automotive, wind power and capital goods are characterized, on the one hand, by complex products and small scale production that require high flexibility and on the other hand by an increasing pressure to raise productivity rates. Furthermore manufacturing systems deals with an ever-changing environment due to short term changes caused by production or human related variability or long term changes (i.e. market`s demands, company’s strategy, technology advancements and demographic trends). In this context assembly systems need to strengthen while facilitate humans and automation taking advantage of each other’s strengths.
The main objective of this 3-year project is the development and evaluation of a new generation of sustainable and adaptive workplaces dealing with the evolving requirements of manufacturing processes and human variability. For this, A4BLUE will introduce adaptive automation mechanisms for an efficient and flexible execution of tasks, ensuring a constant and safe human-machine interaction as well as advanced and personalised worker assistance systems including virtual/augmented reality and knowledge management capabilities to support them in the assembly and training related activities. Furthermore, A4BLUE will provide methods and tools to determine the optimal degree of automation of the new assembly processes by combining and balancing social and economic criteria to maximize long term worker satisfaction and overall process performance.
The A4BLUE solution will be instantiated and validated in two real industrial scenarios (AIRBUS and CESA) and in two lab scenarios (IK4-TEKNIKER and RWTH Aachen).
Ciaotech is the leader of the work package WP7 “Impact Maximization: Dissemination & Exploitation”. Ciaotech brings to the A4BLUE partnership its wide networking capacity, expertise in innovation management, impact assessment and exploitation and market analysis.
In particular Ciaotech will lead the plan for industrial exploitation tasks and coordinate the involvement of all partners, particularly industrial partners. Ciaotech will identify and manage the exploitable results and will perform the business plans and business models for individual exploitation and joint exploitation plan.
On the other hand, Ciaotech will be in charge of the development of the dissemination and communication strategy and execution of the related activities with the value chain stakeholders. Ciaotech will be responsible for the general public dissemination and the industrial dissemination where the related communication activities will focus on campaign-based activities targeting a broad range of stakeholders and the general public.
