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Industrial automation has played a pivotal role towards improvement of productivity, efficiency, working conditions, ergonomics and reduction of health hazards. While a large portion of industrial sectors and processes have or can be automated, certain domains serve as unexplored ground due to the complexity of the processes to be executed, size and material properties of the parts of interest and available space, which highlight the need for new automation technology. In this paper, a systematic classification of product complexity and common industrial processes versus the use of conventional and bio-inspired robots is presented, aiming to identify the benefits of bio-inspired robots over their conventional competitors. Moreover, a novel cable-driven snake robot design is presented, featuring a modular lightweight structure of several segments, each of them controlled by a 3-cable mechanism, providing them 2 degrees of freedom. It exhibits significant potential to demonstrate high levels of versatility in navigating inside intricate, confined environments and narrow passages, such as aircraft fuel tanks, enabling automation of unhealthy processes that traditionally require human intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past years, as part of the continuous research to increase productivity in industrial sector, hybrid solutions allowing the cooperation of industrial robots with operators have been studied. Those combine characteristics from both worlds, such as high accuracy, speed and repeatability of a robot with dexterity of human to perform delicate tasks. Sensing systems have been introduced safeguarding the operators, while primitive workflow monitoring systems, primarily based on operator's feedback, enhance the dynamic behaviour of the system. This paper presents an approach to automatically monitor the execution of human based assembly operations using vision sensors and machine learning techniques. A reference example based on the assembly of a water pump is showcasing the effectiveness of the proposed approach in real-life application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Exoskeleton technologies bring new capabilities and improve endurance and safety in industrial settings. They are designed to increase in industrial productivity and can prevent common workplace injuries. Although they are not a new concept, the integration of exoskeletons in plants is not a trivial matter. Combining wearable robotics with Virtual Reality holds great promise for industrial applications. We propose a VR-based decision tool for the exoskeleton integration in industrial lines that will aid in the identification of the optimal areas and tasks for application, the fine tuning of the active elements of the exoskeleton based on simulation results and the effective and safe training of workers into the correct use of different exoskeletons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]