A Hands-On Platform for Learning Human-Robot Collaboration Using Gesture-Controlled Robotics

Industry 5.0 wants to place the human being at the centre of the industrial context, structuring technology in such a way that the operators become an integral part of the production cycle. In addition to productivity, the systems must dynamically adapt to the human’s needs, considering the well-being of the operators. Following these aims a human-machine application was developed with an educational purpose. This involves a collaborative robot interaction with an operator through the reading and interpretation of kinematic signals from inertial sensors. The activity was designed to provide students, particularly those with a mechanical background, with both an introduction to collaborative robotics and a straightforward understanding and visualization of the theoretical concepts, along with practical aspects such as ROS programming, and hardware implementation of microcontrollers and sensors. Through a hands-on approach, students will have firsthand interaction with the test bench, putting previously learned theoretical concepts into practice, following the principle of learn-by-doing.