Introducing ‘Operator 4.0’ to help human employees
Researchers say there does not have to be conflict between robots and humans, with machines taking people’s jobs
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has arrived. The first was the steam engine-driven Industrial Revolution; the second involved the innovations from Henry Ford’s assembly line. Third, microelectronics and computer power appeared on factory floors.
Now, manufacturing businesses are beginning to integrate robotics, automation and other data-driven technologies into their workflows.
Robots have taken over difficult, dangerous and repetitive physical tasks, improving factory safety, worker comfort and product quality.
The next phase of labour innovation will do the same thing for cognitive work, removing mentally stressful and repetitive tasks from people’s daily routines.
Human work will become more versatile and creative. Robots and people will work more closely together than ever before. People will use their unique abilities to innovate, collaborate and adapt to new situations.
They will handle challenging tasks with knowledge-based reasoning. Machines enabled by the technologies that are now becoming commonplace — virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, wearable sensors like FitBits and smart watches — will take care of tedious work details.
People will still be essential on the factory floors, even as robots become more common. Future operators will have technical support and be superstrong, super-informed, supersafe and constantly connected.
We call this new generation of tech-augmented human workers, both on factory floors and in offices, “Operator 4.0.” There are several types of enhancements available, which can be used individually or in combination to put humans at the heart of this technological revolution. One straightforward enhancement would let workers wear robotic exoskeletons to enhance their strength. A “super-strength operator” could let a human truly control the physical power of a large robot. In today’s warehouses and construction sites, workers risk injury and exhaustion by handling heavy objects themselves. Or they are forced to compromise, using a more powerful tool with less adaptability, like a forklift.
The benefits go well beyond the workplace. Of course, a worker in a powered robotic suit could easily handle extremely heavy objects without losing the flexibility of natural human movements.
The worker would also be far less likely to suffer severe injuries from accidents or overwork.
And at the end of a day, a super-strength worker could take off the exoskeleton and still have energy to play with the kids or spend time with friends.
Fighter pilots use heads-up displays, which provide them with crucial information right on the cockpit windshield and directly in their line of sight. This is “augmented reality,” because it displays information within a live view of the world. It used to be very specialized and expensive technology. Now, Microsoft’s HoloLens makes it available for consumers.
An “augmented operator” can get directions or assistance without interrupting the task he or she is working on. Often, when new equipment or processes are developed, trainers need to travel long distances to factories, staying for weeks to teach workers what to do.
Possibilities are limitless. But there does not have to be conflict between robots and humans, with machines taking people’s jobs and leaving them unemployed.
Technology should be designed with collaboration in mind.