Assessment, Validation and Improvement of Safety and Ergonomics in Human-Robot Interaction
A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Automation and Control Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 12230
Special Issue Editors
Interests: human–robot collaboration; robot safety; robot assembly; robotics
Interests: human–robot collaboration; safety; ergonomics; collaborative assembly systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: human–robot collaboration; safety; industrial robots; assistive robots
Interests: micro manufacturing; micro robotics; micro assembly; micro EDM; micro injection molding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The increasing advancements in robotic technologies enable new applications and new fields of interest. At the same time, the role of robotic devices is evolving in traditional application fields, such as industry. In the robotization era, human–robot interactions (HRIs) push the limit toward optimal and synergistic paradigms for the execution of tasks.
As a consequence of the closer human–robot interactions, the current challenges in robotic implementation go beyond the technological issues, including safety and ergonomics as fundamental boundaries. Safety-related considerations apply to the whole development, implementation and lifecycle of applications, requiring specific approaches for assessment and validation, control strategies, and other equipment. Furthermore, ergonomics (both physical and cognitive) is fundamental for implementing safe, fluent and efficient collaborative applications. These aspects are even more significant in the context of the Industry 5.0 worker-centric paradigm, where a worker’s well-being plays a large role.
This Special Issue focuses on the research efforts dealing with the latest safety and ergonomic challenges arising in the assessment, validation and improvement of collaborative robotic applications, while also considering integrated design methodologies, ranging from industry and smart factories to novel application fields. Suitable topics include, but are not limited to:
- Design and application of human-centered applications;
- Novel approaches for risk assessment and mitigation;
- Safety-oriented application design;
- Human–robot contact and collision: modeling and validation;
- Improvement of a system’s physical and cognitive ergonomics;
- Advanced architectures and equipment for safe and ergonomic interactions;
- Validation approaches and techniques.
Dr. Marcello Valori
Dr. Luca Gualtieri
Dr. José Saenz
Dr. Irene Fassi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Machines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- human–robot interaction
- human–robot collaboration
- safety
- ergonomics
- risk assessment
- safety validation
- collaborative robots
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.