Cluster of Excellence
Integrative Produktionstechnik für Hochlohnländer (Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries)
Key Info
Basic Information
- Duration:
- 01.11.2012 to 31.10.2017
- Research Area:
- Sociotechnical Systems and Human-Machine Interfaces
- Status:
- Closed
Further Information
Synopsis
As part of the second round of the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments to promote cutting-edge research at German universities and research institutes, funding has been approved for the follow-up application of the Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries" at RWTH Aachen University. This means that the first funding period (2006 to 2012) will be followed by a further period of five years during which the IAW – Institut für Arbeitswissenschaft (Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics) – will conduct research as part of the Excellence Initiative. In addition, the IAW presides over the sub-area "Selbstoptimierende Produktionssysteme" (Self-Optimizing Production Systems).
Challenges
The motivation for the Cluster of Excellence lies in steadily increasing global competition. The aim of the Cluster is to find solutions to the question of under which conditions companies in high-wage countries like Germany can successfully develop and produce products, especially for high-volume markets. This solution requires a fundamentally new understanding of product and production technology interrelationships. The Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries" aims to develop a sustainable, production-science strategy and theory as well as the necessary technological approaches. With the Cluster of Excellence, the "Aachen House of Integrative Production Technology", which was successfully founded in the first phase, will be continued, thus bundling the production technology skills at RWTH Aachen University and, in particular, enabling the cooperation and integration of companies in the activities of the cluster.
Goals
The IAW is conducting research in the area of "Self-Optimizing Production Systems ". In the first phase of the funding, various approaches to self-optimization were investigated and corresponding algorithms developed. The second phase of the funding serves to transfer those results to socio-technical production networks. To overcome the challenges of these networks, adequate strategies, models and methods have to be developed and validated. Since humans have to be considered to be an integral part of these systems, the IAW focuses in particular on the interaction of humans and machines within these innovative structures. In this context, the ergonomic design of the workplace is of particular importance.
Methodology
The methods used in this project include the use of anthropomorphic paths of motion for robots, for example. In addition, the assembly sequence in assembly processes is selected by a cognitive control unit so that it is comprehensible to humans. These two methods are used to make work processes transparent. Their use is intended to enable a better understanding of how the machine works.
Results
Numerous insights have been gained in the field of human-machine interaction and human-robot collaboration (HRC). At the IAW, an HRC demonstration workstation was created on the basis of this research. The division of labor is designed so that an assembly management system guides the worker through an arbitrary assembly process stored in the system. In this process, a robotic arm hands over the next required components, such as screws, to increase the overall efficiency of the assembly process. With the aid of work process monitoring, the system is able to estimate the time required for each process step in order to carry out the handovers on a just-in-time basis. This reduces the workload on the operator and enables more effective machine utilization.
Funding
The Cluster of Excellence "Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries" is funded within the framework of the excellence initiative of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
Project Partners
| Industrial Partners |
| BMW |
| Daimler AG |
| EADS |
| Festo AG & Co. KG |
| Ford Forschungszentrum Aachen GmbH |
| Kuka |
| Robert Bosch GmbH |
| ThyssenKrupp Steel AG |
| Volkswagen Werkzeugbau Braunschweig |