Title: Towards autonomous construction equipment - supporting on-site collaboration between automatons and humans

Authors: Martin Frank; Ryan Ruvald; Christian Johansson; Tobias Larsson; Andreas Larsson

Addresses: Volvo Construction Equipment Germany GmbH, Max Planck Straße 1, 54329 Konz, Germany; Blekinge Institute of Technology, Campus Gräsvik, 37179 Karlskrona, Sweden ' Blekinge Institute of Technology, Campus Gräsvik, 37179 Karlskrona, Sweden ' Blekinge Institute of Technology, Campus Gräsvik, 37179 Karlskrona, Sweden ' Blekinge Institute of Technology, Campus Gräsvik, 37179 Karlskrona, Sweden ' Blekinge Institute of Technology, Campus Gräsvik, 37179 Karlskrona, Sweden

Abstract: To support the application of automated machines and collaborative robots in unstructured environments like in the mining, agriculture and construction sector the needs of the human co-worker should be investigated to ensure a safe and productive collaboration. The empirical study presented includes the prototyping of a solution for human-machine communication, which has been supported by a design thinking approach. An understanding of the human needs had been created through jobsite observations and semi-structured interviews with human workforces working in close proximity to heavy mobile equipment. The results show that trust and communication have a big impact on the jobsite collaboration.

Keywords: human-robot collaboration; autonomous machines; construction sites; user experience; design thinking; human-robot trust; human-robot teamwork.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2019.105496

International Journal of Product Development, 2019 Vol.23 No.4, pp.292 - 308

Received: 18 Jan 2019
Accepted: 08 Dec 2019

Published online: 02 Mar 2020 *

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