INEGI is taking digital technologies to the industry to reduce accidents at work

INEGI is a partner in a new European project that will bring 4.0 technologies to industry, in an effort to improve health and safety at work and avoid accidents with manufacturing equipments.

The consortium will launch a pilot project with 10 companies, which will have access to cutting-edge technologies, and mentoring to support the integration of systems and enhance the acceptance of future users. Applications are open on the project's website.

Robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence are some of the technologies that will help workers, in their day-to-day work, to operate with more safety, well-being and greater productivity. "These technologies can make production equipment safer and easier to operate, and even completely automate repetitive or dangerous tasks", explains Sílvia Esteves, responsible for the project at INEGI.

Likewise, the consortium wants to promote greater acceptance of collaborative human-computer systems in productive environments, so it will create strategies to combat cognitive overload and digital fatigue.

This project responds to a concern of the European Commission, which has health and safety at work as a priority, since the numbers paint a regrettable scenario. According to Eurostat data, in 2020, there were 3355 fatal accidents and 2.7 million accidents that resulted in serious and minor injuries. The industrial sector is the 2nd sector with the most occurrences, and Portugal is in 6th position among the countries with the most accidents.

The EARASHI project - Embodied AI/Robotics Applications for a Safe, Human-oriented Industry has 12 partners and is co-funded under HORIZON EUROPE, the European Union's research and innovation programme.