Branche: Design

I4S 2/2026: Learning Factories

I4S 2/2026: Learning Factories

Drivers of research and learning environments for Industry 4.0
In recent years, learning factories have evolved into key experimental environments in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In addition to their role as training centers for skilled workers, they also serve as real-world research laboratories. This issue of Industry 4.0 Science examines learning factories as venues for exploring new approaches and technologies—whether digital assistants, cobots, serious games, or digital twins.
Serious Gaming and the Energy Transition

Serious Gaming and the Energy Transition

Collaborative knowledge generation and interactive understanding of complex interrelationships
Janine Gondolf ORCID Icon, Gert Mehlmann, Jörn Hartung, Bernd Schweinshaut, Anne Bauer
Conveying the complexity and multifaceted nature of the energy transition to a broad audience is a challenge. This article demonstrates how interactive serious games on a multitouch table can help make connections tangible and comprehensible. The games and the table were used in various conversational contexts. These are presented here in three case vignettes based on participant observation of the different applications, as well as situated and shared reflection. The vignettes demonstrate how interaction can trigger epistemic processes, enable shifts in perspective, and foster collective thinking, all of which are necessary for shaping the future of society as a whole.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 42 | 2026 | Edition 2 | Pages 62-69
Applied AI for Human-Centric Assembly Workplace Design

Applied AI for Human-Centric Assembly Workplace Design

An ethics-informed approach
Tadele Belay Tuli ORCID Icon, Michael Jonek ORCID Icon, Sascha Niethammer, Henning Vogler, Martin Manns ORCID Icon
Artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance smart assembly by predicting human motion and adapting workplace design. Using probabilistic models such as Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs), AI systems anticipate operator actions to improve coordination with robots. However, these predictive systems raise ethical concerns related to safety, fairness, and privacy under the EU AI Act, which classifies them as high-risk. This paper presents a conceptual method integrating probabilistic motion modeling with ethical evaluation via Z-Inspection®. An industrial case study using the Smart Work Assistant (SWA) demonstrates how multimodal sensing (motion, gaze) and interpretable models enable anticipatory assistance. The approach moves from ethics evaluation to ethics-informed work design, yielding transferable principles and a configurable assessment matrix that supports compliance-by-design in collaborative assembly.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 42 | 2026 | Edition 1 | Pages 60-68 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.26.1.58
Ethical AI in the Workplace Through Value-Based Labels?

Ethical AI in the Workplace Through Value-Based Labels?

Lessons learned from applying the VCIO framework to an AI-based assistant
Natalie Martin ORCID Icon, Tobias Kopp ORCID Icon, Natalie Beyer, Jochen Wendel ORCID Icon, Steffen Kinkel ORCID Icon
The AI Ethics Label represents a promising approach to promoting ethical AI and appropriate trust in AI systems. However, its practical application reveals some challenges due to its conservative assessment approach, limited context sensitivity, lack of benchmarks, and interpretation aids. Improvements are needed to unlock its full potential.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 42 | Edition 1 | Pages 30-38 | DOI 10.30844/I4SE.26.1.30
Loam Construction and Wooden Shelving

Loam Construction and Wooden Shelving

A contribution to sustainability in warehouse logistics
Viviano De Giacomo ORCID Icon, Nathalie Fritsch ORCID Icon, Jakob Kennert ORCID Icon, Dieter Uckelmann ORCID Icon
This study examines the contribution of natural building materials, in particular loam and wood, to the sustainable development of logistics infrastructure, assessing ecological, economic, and technical dimensions across the entire life cycle. Potentials, restrictions, and supportive framework conditions are identified based on literature analyses and expert interviews. Wood proves to be technically mature and ecologically advantageous, especially in high rack construction, while loam offers high potential for energy- and resource-efficient construction. The study concludes with recommendations for research, policy, and practice to establish circular construction methods in logistics.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | Edition 6 | Pages 82-89
Work Design for Learning and Competence Development

Work Design for Learning and Competence Development

Emerging ways of organizing and supporting learning in digitally transformed workplaces
Peter Dehnbostel
Learning and skill-enhancing work designs are essential for new work and organizational concepts such as “learning organizations” and “Industry 4.0.” Developing and applying criteria for promoting learning and skills development in digitally transformed work environments enables more effective and efficient work processes, makes work more people-centered, and the AI-based future of work more manageable. Digitalization is also introducing work-integrated learning formats such as online communities, learning platforms, and digital cognitive assistance systems that already meet many of these criteria. In the future, designing work environments that promote learning and skills development will become a central task of corporate training and personnel and organizational development.
Industry 4.0 Science | Volume 41 | 2025 | Edition 6 | Pages 58-64