With the increasing complexity of automation tasks to be handled by industrial robots, the programming workload for these systems is also increasing, as is the importance of the human-machine interface. This is particularly noticeable when several robots, or humans and robots, cooperate with each other. New, innovative programming methods, e.g. automatic program generation and adaptation, can significantly reduce the engineering workload. Current issues can also be found in the field of human-robot collaboration. These are the identification of economical application scenarios, safety aspects, programming, and the communication of the worker with the system.

Human-machine interfaces

In the case of complex automation tasks, the design of the facilities that enable interaction between user and system is a crucial factor for their acceptance and therefore their success in practical application. At the Nuremberg Campus of Technology, new human-machine interaction concepts are being researched and developed, such as the operation of automated systems by speech or gestures, but also modern user guidance on the screen, e.g. according to the principles of high-performance HMI. Application scenarios for gesture control comprise, for example, human-robot interaction, whereby the processed sensor data can be simultaneously used to avoid collisions. Other application cases examined include the use of gestures in building automation and in the process control environment.