HUMAN INTEGRATION IN TASK-DRIVEN FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

In manufacturing environments where tasks and task goals are changed frequently, humans instead of (inflexible) machines and devices are used. Due to their natural intelligence, humans are able to adapt themselves more easily to new production conditions and needs. For that, the seamless integration of humans in (semi) automated manufacturing processes is an urgent need of the industry. However, current approaches of human integration on manufacturing systems only cover dedicated activities and use cases. No general model for human integration does exist. This paper presents a holistic method for human integration within the so called the taskdriven manufacturing system. This system allows for highly flexible production in mixed automated and human production environments. Differences of machine and human task performance are covered by the novel method. Thus, from task planning point of view, no difference between human and machine work has to be considered. The applicability of the novel approach has successfully been tested in three different approaches.