Design

Warehousing is a very labor- and cost-intensive task in many companies. Digitization and automation of manual warehouse processes can increase efficiency, reduce costs and relieve employees. Collaborative robots that share work tasks with employees are increasingly used in warehouses. However, the pure techno-centric use of such robots can negatively influence the acceptance of human-robot collaboration. Various influences such as fear of job loss, higher cognitive stress, expected extra effort, or concerns about injuries can hinder human-robot collaboration and negatively impact economic benefits. This paper presents possible barriers to the acceptance of collaborative robotics in warehouses and discusses recommended actions for human-centered, sustainable human-robot collaboration.

In factory operations, measuring equipment is often used without automatic storage or further processing possibilities of the measured value. In this case, employees must capture and process the measured values manually. In this article, an approach for the optical detection and digitization of measured values with the help of machine learning methods is presented. This aims to reduce the workload of the employees, avoid reading errors and enable automated documentation.

Following the success of subscription models such as Netflix or Spotify in the IT and multimedia sector, the implementation of Industry 4.0 is increasingly creating the conditions for offering comparable models in the industrial context. Accordingly, pioneers are offering subscription models for printing machines, compressors or locomotives, for example. Providers do not act alone, but are supported in the design and implementation of the subscription offer by various players such as financiers, insurance companies or digitization service providers. This creates what is known as a subscription ecosystem. This article sheds light on these ecosystems and shows to what extent which players can participate in industrial subscription models. Depending on customer acceptance of these models, a wide variety of companies have the opportunity to benefit from the subscription trend and to tap into new markets and customer groups