Adaptive Task Sharing in Human-Robot Interaction in Assembly

The ongoing development of collaborative robots (cobots) bears great potential for assembly processes by enabling new possibilities of task allocation between humans and machines. A detailed, empirically based evaluation of how cobots can live up to these possibilities in industrial practice is still missing in the manufacturing literature. In this paper some of the existing shortcomings -referred to as "the productivity gap" in current assembly automation processes are discussed. To cope with this gap, adaptive human-cobot task sharing is proposed and implemented as a complementary task allocation model. Its potential to increase productivity and flexibility in new and existing assembly applications is evaluated.