Gesture Control Wearables for Human-Machine Interaction in Industry 4.0.

The deployment of Industry 4.0 will achieve great aims regarding production rate, control, data analysis, cost, energy consumption and flexibility. However, one of the most significant aspects is the human factor. Robots, machinery and knowledge needed could lead to a social problem for those operators who are not prepared to face such big technology challenges. This could cause a technological gap resulting in a rejection or disapproval of beneficial technology. To preserve this emerging paradigm’s balance, researchers and developers must consider using intelligent human-machine interaction capabilities before building novel industry deployments. This paper introduces a smart gesture control system that facilitates movements of a robotic arm with the aid of two wearables devices. By using this kind of control system, any worker should fit into the new paradigm where some precise, hazardous or heavy tasks incorporate robots. Furthermore, this proposal is suited to industry scenarios, since it fulfills fundamental requirements regarding success rate and real-time control as well as high flexibility and scalability, which are key factors in Industry 4.0.