The digital transformation of industry and Industry 4.0 - these terms are familiar to many people. The situation is different with the term Industry 5.0. There is still a need for clarification here. It is by no means the fifth industrial revolution, but in fact a further development of the concepts from Industry 4.0 with the inclusion of new technological developments (5G, machine learning, XR eXtended Reality). Three pillars are crucial to Industry 5.0: the focus is on people (human-centred perspective), resilience and resistance play a major role and sustainability is the order of the day.
Human-machine interaction plays a crucial role in industry, said Setareh Zafari, researcher at the Center for Technology Experience, at the Industry Summit in Graz on 16 November. She gave a keynote speech on "Human Robot Collaboration 2023 and beyond: Toward human centred robotics in Industry 5.0" to the Styrian digital manufacturing community. Current robots are used in industrial production for assembly and logistics processes. However, a high proportion of industrial activities still have to be carried out by humans, as the automation of complex tasks and interaction with a constantly changing environment still present a challenge. Even if full automation were technically possible, "human-in-the-loop" concepts are required for legal and ethical reasons. "It is therefore essential to create human-centred technological solutions and workplaces and to analyse how the division of tasks between humans and robots in industrial production should be designed in the most sensible way," emphasised Setareh Zafari in her lecture, presenting a number of current AIT research projects.
CRANEium remote indoor crane control as an example
People often fear digitalisation or are afraid of artificial intelligence and machine learning. "We need to look more at people," said Alexander Mirnig, Automation Experience Lead at the Centre for Technology Experience, in his keynote speech on "Industry 5.0: Human-Centered, Digital & Future Fit" at the IoT Forum on 23 November in Vienna and immediately posed the question: "What should future factories look like?". The answer is: humans will not be replaced in the future either, but it will be about optimising the interaction between humans and machines and developing useful assistance systems that support people in terms of usability and user experience. As an example, Mirnig presented the CRANEium project, in which AIT developed a remote control system for indoor cranes for the customer Industrie-Logistik-Linz GmbH (ILL) in close cooperation with the users and the ILL team. This demo could be tested by all participants of the IoT Forum in the exhibition area. Controlling an overhead crane themselves was an experience for many. This made Industry 5.0 a little more accessible.
