Evaluating Methods of Visual Assistance for Workers to Improve Quality and Usability in Individualized Kitchen Cabinet Assembly

In times of digitalisation, visual assistance systems in assembly are increasingly important. The design of these assembly systems needs to be highly complex to meet the requirements. Due to the increasing number of variants in production processes, as well as shorter innovation and product life cycles, assistance systems should improve quality and reduce complexity of assembly processes. However, many large kitchen manufacturers still assemble kitchen cabinets manually, due to the high variety of components, such as rails and fittings. This paper focuses on the analysis and evaluation of virtual assistance systems to improve quality and usability in individualised kitchen cabinet assembly processes at a large German manufacturer. A solution is identified and detailed.

Joint Motion Control of a Powered Lower Limb Orthosis for Rehabilitation

Many patients with spinal injures are confined to wheelchairs, leading to a sedentary lifestyle with secondary pathologies and increased dependence on a carer. Increasing evidence has shown that locomotor training reduces the incidence of these secondary pathologies, but the physical effort involved in this training is such that there is poor compliance. This paper reports on the design and control of a new ＂human friendly＂ orthosis （exoskeleton）, powered by high power pneumatic Muscle Actuators （pMAs）. The combination of a highly compliant actuation system, with an intelligent embedded control mechanism which senses hip, knee, and ankle positions, velocity, acceleration and force, produces powerful yet inherently safe operation for paraplegic patients. This paper analyzes the motion of ankle, knee, and hip joints under zero loading, and loads which simulate human limb mass, showing that the use of ＂soft＂ actuators can provide a smooth user friendly motion. The application of this technology will greatly improve the rehabilitative protocols for paraplegic patients.

Interaction design for paediatric emergency VR training

Background Virtual reality(VR)in healthcare training has increased adoption and support,but efforts are still required to mitigate usability concerns.Methods This study conducted a usability study of an in-use emergency medicine VR training application,available on commercially available VR hardware and with a standard interaction design.Nine users without prior VR experience but with relevant medical expertise completed two simulation scenarios for a total of 18 recorded sessions.They completed NASA Task Load Index and System Usability Scale questionnaires after each session,and their performance was recorded for the tracking of user errors.Results and Conclusions Our results showed a medium(and potentially optimal)Workload and an above average System Usability Score.There was significant improvement in several factors between users'first and second sessions,notably increased Performance evaluation.User errors with the strongest correlation to usability were not directly tied to interaction design,however,but to a limited'possibility space'.Suggestions for closing this'gulf of execution'were presented,including'voice control'and'hand-tracking',which are only feasible for this commercial product now with the availability of the Oculus Quest headset.Moreover,wider implications for VR medical training were outlined,and potential next steps towards a standardized design identified.

Integrated Framework for Vehicle Interior Design Using Digital Human Model

Evaluating the human friendliness of vehicles is essential for designing new vehicles since large numbers of human-machine interactions occur frequently inside vehicles. In this research, we develop an integrated framework for vehicle interior design using a digital human model （DHM）. In this framework, the knowledge-based parametric modelling function of vehicles is implemented using a commercial computer-aided design （CAD） system. The combination of the DHM and the CAD system enables designers into carry out ergonomic evaluations of various human-vehicle interactions and understand the effects of modifications of vehicle design parameters on occupants during designing. Further, the information on human-vehicle interaction obtained using this system can be transmitted to dedicated biomechanical analysis software. By analysing human motions inside vehicles using such software, we can obtain optimized interior design parameters.