Robots and the Work Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Industrial, service and social robots are foreseen to become significant “partners” or “co-workers” (Krüger and Surdilovic, 2008; Krüger, Schreck and Surdilovic, 2011; Kim and Mutlu, 2014) [1–3] in human working environments. The increasing expectation of implementing robots in manifold working processes is expressed not only by public debates but also by the orientation of national and international policy strategies (Ebel, 1987; Hägele, Schaaf and Helms, 2002; Krüger, Lien and Verl, 2009) [4–6]. We invite theoretical and empirical papers and case studies that critically engage with the areas of human-robot interaction in work environments and the impact of robots on the work environment. Within the area of human-robot interaction in work environments (whether human worker-robot worker or human client-robot worker, or human worker-robot client), potential areas of engagement can concern, as examples, how industrial, service, and social robots are represented by engineering sciences and social sciences; the idea of a sustainable concept of “work”; how the application of robots is changing the character of work in specific fields; new developments and impacts of automation; the impacts on complex working systems; the anthropocentric dimension of human-machine interfaces; and long-term perspectives of organizational, social, and ethical implications.

Prof. Dr. António B. Moniz
Dr. Bettina-Johanna Krings
Guest Editors

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References:

1.   Krüger, J.; Surdilovic, D. Robust control of force-coupled human-robot-interaction in assembly processes. CIRP Annals—Manuf. Technol. 2008, 57, 41–44.
2.   Krüger, J.; Schreck, G.; Surdilovic, D. Dual arm robot for flexible and cooperative assembly. CIRP Annals—Manuf. Technol. 2011, 60, 5–8.
3.   Kim, Y.; Mutlu, B. How social distance shapes human–robot interaction. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud. 2014, 72, 783–795.
4.   Ebel, K.-H. The impact of industrial robots on the world of work. Robotics 1987, 3, 65–72.
5.   Hägele, M.; Schaaf, W.; Helms, E. Robot assistants at manual workplaces: Effective co-operation and safety aspects. In Proceedings of the 33rd International Symposium on Robotics (ISR 2002), Stockholm, Sweden, 7–11 October 2002; pp. 1–6.
6.   Krüger, J.; Lien, T.; Verl, A. Cooperation of human and machines in assembly lines. CIRP Annals—Manuf. Technol. 2009, 2, 628–646.

• robotics
• automation
• human-robot interaction
• work organisation
• technology assessment
• social theories