INDUSTRIAL SAFETY USING AUGMENTED REALITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

Industrialization brought benefits to the development of societies, albeit at the cost of the safety of industrial workers. Industrial operators were often severely injured or lost their lives during the working process. The causes can be cuts or lacerations resulting from moving machine parts, burns or scalds resulting from touch, or mishandling of thermal, electrical, and chemical objects. Fatigue, distraction, or inattention can exacerbate the risk of industrial accidents. The accidents can cause service downtime of manufacturing machinery, leading to lower productivity and significant financial losses. Therefore, regulations and safety measures were formulated and overseen by the government and local authorities.

Safety measures include effective training of workers, an inspection of the workplace, safety rules, safeguarding, and safety warning systems. For instance, safeguarding prevents contact with hazardous moving parts by isolating or stopping them, whereas a safety warning system detects accident risks and issues an alert warning. Warning systems were mostly mounted detection sensors and alerting systems. Mobile alerting devices can be gadgets such as phones, tablets, smartwatches, or smart glasses. Smart goggles can be utilized for industrial safety to protect, detect, and warn about potential risks.

Adopting new technologies such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence can enhance the safety of workers in the industry. Augmented reality systems developed for head-mounted displays can extend workers’ perception of the environment. Artificial intelligence utilizing state-of-the-art sensors can improve industrial safety by making workers aware of potential hazards in the environment. For instance, thermal or infrared sensors can detect hot objects in the workplace. Built-in infrared sensors in smart glasses can detect the state of attention of users. Using smart glasses, potential hazards can be conveyed to industrial workers using various modalities, such as audial, visual, or tactile.

We have successfully developed advanced safety systems for industrial workers. Our innovative approach incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as eye tracking, spatial mapping, and thermal imaging. By utilizing eye tracking, we are able to identify instances of user inattention, while spatial mapping allows us to analyze the user’s behavior and surroundings. Furthermore, the integration of thermal imaging enables us to detect hot objects within the user’s field of view. The first system we developed is a warning system that harnesses the power of augmented reality and artificial intelligence. This system effectively issues alerts and presents holographic warnings to combat instances of inattention or distraction. By utilizing visual cues and immersive technology, we aim to proactively prevent accidents and promote worker safety.

The second safety system we designed involves the integration of a third-party thermal imaging system into smart glasses. Through this integration, our safety system overlays false-color holograms onto hot objects, enabling workers to easily identify and avoid potential hazards. To evaluate the effectiveness of our systems, we conducted comprehensive experiments with human participants. These experiments involved both qualitative and quantitative measurements, and we further conducted semi-structured interviews with the participants to gather their insights.

The results and subsequent discussions from our experiments have provided valuable insights for the future implementation of safety systems. Through this research, we envision the continued advancement and refinement of safety technologies to further enhance worker safety in industrial settings.