Projected Human-Machine Interaction Feedback for Industrial Task Safety

Solution Overview

Problem

Current human-machine interaction systems in industrial environments lack bi-directional communication, leading to ambiguous and potentially hazardous decisions due to the unilateral flow of information, especially in dynamic and unpredictable settings with intelligent cyber-physical systems.

Innovation Solution

A cyber-mechanical system that includes an industrial machine, a task planner, an interaction reasoner, and an image generator to produce interaction images conveying machine actions and intentions to humans through visual, audible, or haptic domains, enabling increased awareness and psychological well-being by providing bi-directional communication.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If autonomous machines become more intelligent and capable, then machine capability and intelligence are improved, but machine behavior becomes increasingly complex and less predictable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemachine capabilityVSAvoidbehavior predictability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements bidirectional feedback by having the machine communicate its state, tasks, and intent to the human through the communication device, while also receiving human proximity and task information. This creates a closed-loop information exchange that makes machine behavior more predictable and understandable to humans, resolving the contradiction between increased capability and reduced predictability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

A communication device acts as an intermediary between the autonomous machine and the human worker. This intermediary translates machine states and intentions into human-understandable information, bridging the gap between complex machine capabilities and human comprehension, thereby maintaining predictability even as machine intelligence increases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If unilateral safety algorithms are used to control the machine, then machine safety control is improved, but bi-directional information flow is lost causing ambiguous safety decisions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety controlVSAvoidinformation flow

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements bidirectional feedback by having the machine communicate its state, tasks, and intent to the human through the communication device, while also receiving human proximity and task information. This creates a closed-loop information exchange that makes machine behavior more predictable and understandable to humans, resolving the contradiction between increased capability and reduced predictability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The information exchange is segmented into distinct components: machine state information, task information, intent information, and human proximity detection. This segmentation allows for structured, comprehensive bidirectional communication that ensures no critical safety information is lost while maintaining clear, unambiguous safety decisions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If human proximity recognition is introduced into machines, then safety monitoring is improved, but human awareness of machine intent is not provided

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety monitoringVSAvoidmachine intent information

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements bidirectional feedback by having the machine communicate its state, tasks, and intent to the human through the communication device, while also receiving human proximity and task information. This creates a closed-loop information exchange that makes machine behavior more predictable and understandable to humans, resolving the contradiction between increased capability and reduced predictability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS12157235B2Method for dynamic multi-dimensional spatio-temporal human machine interaction and feedback

Publication Date: 2024.12.03 SIEMENS AG

AI summary

A system for safe interaction between a human and an industrial machine includes a cyber-mechanical system. The cyber-mechanical system includes at least one industrial machine and a cyber-mechanical control system for processing inputs and producing control outputs for the at least one industrial machine; The system further includes a task planner configured to translate high level goals into scheduled tasks of the industrial machine. The system includes an interaction reasoner that identifies at least one interaction between the industrial machine and a human working in cooperation with the industrial machine. Output of the interaction reasoner is provided to an image generator that produces an interaction image. The interaction image represents information relating to one or more of the scheduled tasks of the industrial machine. An image projector associated with the industrial machine conveys information about the scheduled tasks of the associated industrial machine to the human.