FW-HTF-P: Design of Tools and Technologies for Industry 4.0 Manufacturing Work

随着信息技术的成熟，第四次工业革命——通常被称为工业4.0——正在兴起。工业4.0旨在利用技术将设计、制造和消费者活动无缝集成，从而提高生产率、可靠性和客户满意度。然而，向工业4.0过渡的过程对公司和工人来说都是具有挑战性的。在生产系统和流程更新期间，公司不能停止运营。由于技术的成本和培训劳动力的需要，过渡可能需要几年的时间。不能适应新技术和新工艺的工人面临着失业的风险。这个项目将把制造业代表和研究人员聚集在一起，为未来的研究制定计划。该研究计划将为工具和技术的开发奠定基础，使企业向工业4.0的过渡更直接、更经济、更成功。可能的研究课题包括从传统制造系统向工业4.0系统过渡的路线图；工作站和装配线的人体工程学设计工具；面向员工的认知虚拟助手；人机界面设计指南；自动生成知识和技能“人行横道”，帮助公司识别仍然需要的现有技能和工人需要学习的新技能。拟议的规划拨款旨在制定与制造业实施工业4.0相关的研究议程。工作领域是制造业；子领域包括智能设计、智能加工、智能装配、智能监控、智能控制和智能调度。工作场所是工厂，包括生产线、工程设计、检验和测试区域。这些工人包括在这些地区工作的工程师和操作员。拟议的规划活动将侧重于更好地了解行业需求，并结合融合研究方法，为开发工具和技术奠定基础，从而增强人类与技术的伙伴关系，并提高工业4.0制造工作中的人类绩效。主要任务将包括：(1)调查工业4.0制造系统的发展、应用和制约因素；(2)与来自不同制造业部门的代表和具有制造工程、人因、人力资源开发、社会学和计算机科学专业知识的研究人员密切合作，制定一个融合的研究议程。智力优势：虽然工业4.0有许多潜在的好处，但目前，从传统制造系统过渡到工业4.0制造系统的过程是昂贵的，对公司和工人来说都充满了风险。提出的融合方法将使科学家能够向工厂技术经理学习，了解在其公司内实施工业4.0的运营挑战。让具有不同专业领域的研究人员参与进来，将提供对问题更丰富的理解和解决问题的趋同方法。更广泛的影响：预计到2025年，工业4.0将为国内生产总值增加2.2万亿美元。运营转型对全球制造业的价值估计为3.7万亿美元/年。为了保持竞争力，制造商需要能够迅速适应不断变化的市场，这就需要有一支准备充分的劳动力队伍。拟议的规划活动将确定可以开发的工具和技术，以实现工业4.0的成功实施，从而改善工作环境，使工人在工作中取得成功，并提高美国公司的竞争力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As information technology has matured, a Fourth Industrial Revolution—often referred to as Industry 4.0—is emerging. Industry 4.0 aims to use technology to integrate design, manufacturing, and consumer activities seamlessly, resulting in increased productivity, reliability and customer satisfaction. However, the process of transitioning to Industry 4.0 can be challenging to both companies and workers. Companies cannot stop operating while their production systems and processes are being updated. Due to the cost of the technology and the need to train the workforce, the transition may need to take place over a period of years. Workers who cannot adapt to the new technologies and processes risk losing their jobs. This project will bring manufacturing industry representatives and researchers together to develop a plan for future research. The research plan will lay the groundwork for development of tools and technologies to make the transition to Industry 4.0 more straightforward and cost-effective for companies and more successful for workers. Examples of possible research topics include road maps for transitioning from conventional manufacturing systems to Industry 4.0 systems; tools for ergonomic design of workstations and assembly lines; cognitive virtual assistants for workers; guidance for human interface design; and automated generation of knowledge and skill “crosswalks” to help companies identify existing skills that will still be needed and new skills that workers need to learn.The proposed planning grant aims to develop a research agenda related to the implementation of Industry 4.0 within the manufacturing industry. The work domain is manufacturing; sub-domains could include smart design, smart machining, smart assembly, smart monitoring, smart control and smart scheduling. The workplace is the factory, which could include production lines, engineering design, and inspection and testing areas. The workers include the engineers and operators who work in these areas. The proposed planning activities will focus on gaining a better understanding of industry needs which, together with a convergent research approach, will lay the groundwork for development of tools and technologies that can enhance the human-technology partnership and augment human performance in Industry 4.0 manufacturing work. Major tasks will include: (1) survey Industry 4.0 manufacturing system development, applications, and constraints; and (2) develop a convergent research agenda in close collaboration with representatives from a variety of manufacturing sectors and researchers with expertise in manufacturing engineering, human factors, human resource development, sociology, and computer science. Intellectual merit: Although Industry 4.0 has many potential benefits, at this time, the process of transitioning from a traditional manufacturing system to an Industrial 4.0 manufacturing system is expensive and fraught with risk to both the company and its workers. The proposed convergent approach will allow scientists to learn from plant technical managers about the operational challenges of implementing Industry 4.0 within their companies. Involving researchers with diverse areas of expertise will provide a richer understanding of the issues and convergent approaches to problem-solving. Broader impacts: Industry 4.0 is projected to add $2.2 trillion to domestic GDP by 2025. The value of the operational transformation to the global manufacturing industry is estimated to be $3.7T/year. To remain competitive, manufacturers need to be able to rapidly adapt to changing markets, which requires having a well-prepared workforce. The proposed planning activities will identify tools and technologies that could be developed to enable successful implementation of Industry 4.0, and thereby enhance work environments, position workers to be successful at their jobs, and increase competitiveness of U.S. companies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.