A Quick-Check to Evaluate Assembly Systems’ HRI Potential

Human-robot interaction (HRI) offers new opportunities for assembly processes which are executed manually. This is made possible by the development of lightweight robots which can interact directly with humans. To plan and implement HRI scenarios, suitable workstations and subprocesses need to be identified. The Quick-Check is a tool whose application allows an objective and reliable evaluation of HRI potential of existing, manual assembly workstations to be carried out with minimal effort in time and costs. This is achieved by rating the assembly subprocesses according to criteria which typically facilitate or complicate the automation of tasks. This article explains the motivation for as well as the relevance of the Quick-Check’s development. Furthermore, the state of the art in identification of automation and HRI potential in workplaces is presented. Additionally, the established criteria and the tool’s application are detailed. Finally, the Quick-Check’s validation by application in university and industrial environments and its integration into a planning system for the development of an HRI assembly system developed within the framework of a research project is described.