IIDEA - Inclusion and Integration with Cobots in the First Labor Market
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Collaborative Robotics Enables Inclusion
Collaborative robotics enable the inclusion and integration of severely disabled people in the primary labor market. In a human-centric way, new jobs and forms of employment can be created that are adapted to the individual needs of severely disabled people. And this is not on the edge but at the heart of digitization and Industry 4.0. The next step is aggressively establishing these new forms of employment in the industry.
Motivation
Severely disabled people are only inadequately integrated into the work processes in industrial manufacturing and assembly. They often work in workshops for disabled people, hereafter referred to as workshops, where they operate in isolation from the regular labor market.
When companies integrate severely disabled people, it is usually only in simple jobs and in isolation from the rest of the workforce. This does not lead to inclusion, but only to integration in the form of separation, in which severely disabled people do not feel integrated and are thus socially and spatially excluded in the long run.
Collaborative robots play a central role in improving the inclusion of severely disabled people in workshops and industrial environments. Collaborative robots can compensate for the reduced performance capabilities of severely disabled people in a targeted manner and thus enable them to participate fully in the primary labor market.
Various projects and approaches use collaborative robots to support disabled people in activities of the first labor market. The numerous preliminary work and projects clearly show that the topic of inclusion through collaborative robots and the associated potential is not fully exploited.
Aim
We aim to make collaborative robotics accessible to severely disabled people. Thus, we enable inclusion and permanently strengthen their self-esteem. To this end, we offer the following services:
- Training and information events,
- training and consulting,
- modular and adaptable robot workstations and
- an Infomobile to discover the technologies in a hands-on approach.
In addition to Germany-wide information and training on the implementation of new collaborative workplaces and the inclusion of severely disabled people in companies in the primary labor market, various attention-grabbing projects should promote the widespread dissemination of the topic and lead to the growth of inclusive companies. A network must be created consisting of users, severely disabled people, and interested parties.
Approach
To improve the use of collaborative robots, we offer training and information events as well as individual training and consulting. Users and industrial partners benefit from our many years of experience in the design, possibilities, and equipment of collaborative workstations.
Furthermore, the adaptation to the requirements and abilities of the users is of central importance. For this purpose, we adapt the collaborative robot support to the individual capabilities of severely disabled people. We consider the robot characteristics, the workplace hardware, and the work processes. For this purpose, a model workstation is developed, which can be adapted very quickly and individually due to its modular and adaptable design. Due to its mobility, users, workshops, and industrial users can test the workstation on-site.
To ensure a spatially independent presentation and use of the robots, a transporter with an integrated workstation is being developed as an Infomobile. This Infomobile can be used to visit affected individuals and users in workshops and industries.
Inclusion can only work through cooperation. Thus, we are interested in a broad network and participation in the project. People with limitations or severe disabilities, workshops, associations, industrial users, manufacturers, and distributors of robots and accessories can participate in the project. Chambers of Industry and Commerce, associations, and organizations can join the project. In addition to participation in the project network, membership in the project advisory board is also possible.
Funding
Educational project supported by the Equalization Fund of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs