UC joins Ohio to improve worker safety

Engineers tackle smart hard hats and safer robots

Robots are becoming an indispensable part of America’s workforce.

For every 10,000 workers in the United States, 285 robots work alongside them, according to a report this year by the International Federation of Robotics.

But robots can be dangerous around people, said Manish Kumar, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

Ohio is taking steps to ensure the safety of workers in proximity to these electronic tools. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation's Workforce Safety Innovation Center awarded $9.4 million for workforce safety innovation projects, including two led by UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation awarded grants to the University of Cincinnati for two projects designed to improve worker safety. For one project, UC will demonstrate the feasibility of teaching robots how to anticipate human movements to prevent collisions in shared workspaces. Photo/iStockPhoto

Making safer robots

In UC’s Industry 4.0/5.0 Institute, Kumar and Professor Sam Anand create virtual workspaces called “digital twins” that allow researchers to simulate or make virtual changes that can lead to improvements in the real space.

“In today’s factories you often have robots carrying things around the warehouse. They’re equipped with sensors, but collisions can lead to injuries, particularly around corners or spaces where people can’t see,” Kumar said.

UC Professor Sam Anand. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand

“As automation is making these machines more independent, the ability for humans to work in proximity to them requires a greater layer of safety.”

For the new Ohio project, UC will use generative artificial intelligence to predict human motion in workspaces like factory floors or warehouses. And then they will use motion-planning algorithms to put autonomous robots through simulations so they can anticipate and prevent collisions with workers.

“We are using digital twins and putting them through thousands of scenarios similar to a flight simulator for the AI to practice and prevent collisions,” Anand said.

UC plans to provide proof of concept on the project in collaboration with industry partners, including Procter & Gamble Co.

UC Professor Kelly Cohen, who has conducted extensive research in autonomous navigation and artificial intelligence in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, is also a co-investigator on the project.

“Robots often are heavy, so they can cause major injury,” Anand said. “It’s a problem. Humans don’t have eyes on the back of their heads. And people can be careless. But you can’t blame the human.”

A worker at the Hoover Dam wears two baseball caps dipped in tar as a protective hard hat.

Construction of the Hoover Dam marked the first project that required workers to wear hard hats. Workers made their own using baseball caps dipped in tar. Photo/U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Innovations in hard hats

The second project funded by Ohio will develop a better hard hat.

The project features UC experts in electronics, sensors, novel materials and concussion mitigation across engineering departments as well as environmental health through the UC College of Medicine.

Mechanical engineering Professor Jing Shi said they are investigating new energy-absorbing materials that can be used as hard hat liners to reduce injury caused by blows to the head. And embedded sensors in the hard hats can help workers and their employers tell whether they should seek medical attention for a concussion or other head or neck injury after a head impact.

“Hard hats were popularized when they built Hoover Dam. Workers made their own by tarring baseball caps together so the bills were front and back. It was a wild concept,” UC biomedical engineering Professor Eric Nauman said.

“In the last 20 years, we haven’t seen a lot of advances in hard hats,” he said.

In his lab in UC’s Bioscience Center, Nauman studies ways to mitigate concussions in sports, particularly football and soccer. With this new collaboration, Nauman said he sees a big opportunity to improve worker safety.

“We have the ability to save lives where we couldn’t before,” he said.

UC’s team is working with the publicly traded company Cintas based in Mason, Ohio, and Malta Dynamics, based in Malta, Ohio, which makes, rents and sells fall-protection and safety equipment.

“We are excited to be teaming up with the University of Cincinnati on this project and see tremendous potential for making improvements to safety helmets that can significantly enhance worker safety,” said Isaac Bocook, the company’s product development and quality manager.

“This collaboration with UC will allow us to create safety helmets that are smarter, safer and more effective in protecting workers across various industries.”

The project also includes Chong Ahn, Tao Li and Jay Kim from UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science and Jed Hartings and Kermit Davis, from the UC College of Medicine.

Featured image at top: UC will use two grants from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to develop innovations to improve worker safety. Photo/iStockPhoto

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UC joins Ohio to improve worker safety

Engineers tackle smart hard hats and safer robots

Making safer robots

Innovations in hard hats

Innovation Lives Here

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