Advanced sensing, automation, and artificial intelligence are changing workplaces in many industries. But these changes don’t have to mean that robots are replacing humans.
Researchers at Northeastern are working with the seafood processing industry as a test case to learn more about how robots could be integrated into the workforce. These robotic coworkers would simultaneously make the workplace safer and more comfortable for human workers and more efficient and profitable for companies.
“There are numerous risky, dangerous parts of seafood processing, which suggests that there might be value in developing collaborative robotic systems,” says Kristian Kloeckl, an associate professor of art, design, and architecture who is investigating the best way for humans and robots to work together. “We’re interested in understanding how people in this industry work, and how they can be supported in their work by adaptive and collaborative machines.”
