Wearable Activity Tracking in Car Manufacturing

TLDR

In industrial settings, context‑aware wearable computing can support workers by recognizing actions and delivering just‑in‑time information, and this article contributes to a special issue on activity‑based computing. The study aims to develop and test real‑life industrial activity‑tracking systems. The effort is carried out within the EU wearIT@work project. Case studies with Skoda demonstrate that the system improves training of assembly workers and quality assurance, and the lessons are transferable to other domains.

Abstract

In an industrial scenario, a context-aware wearable computing system could support a production or maintenance worker. The system could recognize the worker's actions and deliver just-in-time information about activities the worker is to perform. This article reports on an ongoing effort to develop and test such real-life industrial activity-tracking systems within the European Union wearIT@work project. Two case studies conducted in cooperation with the European car manufacturer Skoda demonstrate how the system supports the training of assembly workers and quality assurance in the assembly line. The lessons learned from these studies are applicable in other areas. This article is part of a special issue on activity-based computing.