During this year 2020, 1.7 M of industrial robots will be installed worldwide, being Asia the biggest market followed by Europe[1]. During the last year, the number of installed robots in Asia grew 1% (total 283,080 units) while in Europe it increased by 14% (75,650 units more) when the annual average growth rate is of 13%[1] since 2013 Manufacturing sectors represent the 14% of the EU's GDP [2] and involve more than 30 million workers [3]. In order to improve or maintain these numbers, Collaborative Robotics seem like the perfect tool for the European manufacturing sectors. Other emerging countries are being competitive due to their younger, cheaper and bigger workforce while European labour force is ageing and facing work-related disorders, which is has turned out costly for healthcare systems According to the World Economic Forum, during 2022, 133 M job positions will be created while and 65 M will be aton risk of dissappearing. The continuous training of workers will be key in order to have achieve a smooth transition in terms of employability and new jobs in EU[4] In order to take advantage of robots' productivity it is needed more human resources. Collaborative Robotics will foster the employee training and adaptation to Industry 4.0 while improving his health and work conditions. Only ISO-TS 15066 regulates Collaborative Robotics. In these contexts, TOURINGS proposes a training course totally aligned with the mentioned standard, addressing: I) safety requirements for the human-robot interaction, II) ergonomic assessment in human-robot interaction, III) installation of collaborative robotics in the assembly line, and IV) design of different robot modules and behaviours to address the production line needs TOURINGS aims to develop a liquid education approach, ''when the world is constantly changing, education should be fast enough to add to it'' [5]. This approach will address a highly-interconnected training covering all the aspects related to Collaborative Robotics, its installation, design, human interaction, use and digital measurement TOURINGS will consider different features of Collaborative Robotics; technical aspects, human-robot interaction, installation in the assembly line or robot design aspects. Collaborative Robotics make assembly lines more flexible, but it is important to install them without disrupting the balance of the production line. TOURINGS will address cycle times and process reengineering in the assembly line, it will cover ergonomics assessment of the human-robot interaction by following the ISO/TS 15066, Human Digital models and Human Digital Simulations along with the RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) method. The project will also cover technical aspects in different robots' module and behaviour design or workstation design TOURINGS consists of six entities covering Higher Education and Vocational Education and Traning institutions, Research Centres and a National Standardisation Body, introducing different expertise related to Collaborative Robotics, teaching, human resources management, assembly line management, ICT tools and Project Management. This collaboration is addressed to significant labour and societal challenges like work-related musculoeskeletal disorders (WMSDs) or lack of knowledge of human-robot interaction TOURINGS will perform the following activities -Comparative analyses, questionnaires, real life study cases and a report of the current situation and potential evolution of Collaborative Robotics within European Manufacturing Sectors -Development of an Educational Philosophy and Joint Curriculum related to the target groups needs. It will be the basis for the development of knowledge, skills and competences included in the learning content -Development of interactive training materials and assessment methods -6 transnational meetings and 5 multiplier events (1 per country) -The development of the Blueprint and the implementation of its action plan -Management and implementation tasks, Quality & Risk Management tasks, Dissemination and Promotion activities TOURINGS will bring innovative didactic training content and tools to enable Manufacturing companies in the participation of the ISO/TC 15066 development due to its alignment. The training course will also foster Collaborative Robotics as new creative language. The project results and activities developed will help the partners raise awareness among policy makers about the weight of aligning educational programmes with societal needs and deploying these concepts in educational and labour policies [1]https://ifr.org/downloads/press2018/Executive%20Summary%20WR%2019%20Industrial%20Robots.pdf [2]https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.ZS?end=2018&location=EU&start=2006 [3]https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/10086.pdf [4]http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf [5]Bauman, Z. (2006) Education in Liquid Modernity
The main aim of TOURINGS was to develop an innovative training tool for the manufacturing sector in the field of robotics, to facilitate the introduction of cobots in these areas and to improve skills and knowledge for the following years. The course addresses the following key aspects for the manufacturing sector: a) safety requirements for human-robot interaction, b) ergonomic measurements in human-robot interactions, c) the integration of cobots into the assembly line, d) the design of different robot modules and behaviors, to address the needs of production. The installation of cobots according to ISO-TS 15066 should be promoted across the EU to improve the health of employees by avoiding WMSDs, improving the design of the behavior of cobots through modularity and knowledge of assembly lines. These goals were divided into 5 subgoals that were to be achieved over the course of the project.
The aging European workforce and repetitive, monotonous and non-ergonomic tasks are major EU concerns regarding WMSDs (work-related musculoskeletal disorders). Considering the development of automation and installation of robots (more than doubled between 2015 and 2021), the automation of, for example, non-ergonomic, monotonous tasks can bring enormous benefits. Collaborative robots designed to interact directly with humans can support employees and improve health, as well as increase working conditions and efficiency in some tasks. These are exactly the key aspects regarding the competitive situation in the European manufacturing sector with regard to more automated countries such as China or Japan or to developing countries with younger and cheaper workers. Cobots help to improve assembly times, make automation more flexible and can be adapted to changing environments - to name just a few advantages.