New technologies and the new paradigms of Industry 4.0 have imposed a change in the logic of production, employment and safety at work. The aim is to limit the risks of working and living environments, which are increasingly integrated into the Net, thanks to IoT devices (powered by new generation networks) and more. New technologies and innovation: a very close relationship and the focus of some interesting projects at Maker Faire Rome 2021. Here are a few examples.
MAC4PRO
Smart maintenance of industrial plants: this is the focus of the MAC4PRO research project, co-financed by INAIL and the Universities of Bologna, Roma Tor Vergata, Messina and the Politecnico di Milano. MAC4PRO envisages the development of integrated 4.0 monitoring networks and advanced probabilistic models for the safe management of equipment and plants, structures and infrastructures on the basis of data and information on degradation processes and operating conditions with reference to current and expected future use, through periodic checks and real-time analysis. Monitoring does not reduce the risk of ageing production facilities, but it does allow the risk to be controlled through alerts that indicate when and where action is required.
WEARABLES AT WORK TOO
Smart clothes equipped with sensors, made from engineered fabrics to monitor both the environmental factors of the working environment and the physiological parameters of the worker. We are talking about the SENSE RISC project, also promoted and financed by INAIL. Thanks to wireless technology and bio-cooperative algorithms, the assessment of accident risk for the individual worker is instantaneous.
Also in the field of occupational safety, the Italian Institute of Technology, with INAIL, brought to Maker Faire Rome 2021 the development of the three-year ergoCub project, where “ergo” stands for ergonomics and “Cub” recalls the name of IIT’s humanoid child iCub. At Maker Faire Rome 2021, the iCub 3 prototype will be presented at the INAIL stand, with new demonstration tasks.
I CHOOSE ROAD SAFETY
Safety on the road, as a preventive measure against Saturday night killings, fuelled by alcohol and drugs. This is the meaning of the project Al lavoro – Scelgo la sicurezza stradale! Special visors will simulate the effects of alcohol and drugs on road safety. An activity with the educational aim of simulating the condition of psycho-physical alteration due to a state of intoxication and drug use. Through the use of these special visors, visitors to Maker Faire will be able to experience at first hand the consequences of alcohol and psychotropic substances on reflexes, balance and perception of space.
ACEA’S AUGMENTED REALITY
ACEA, a long-standing partner of Maker Faire, is pushing Augmented Reality, this year in its eighth appearance at the Fair. Augmented reality in training and maintenance. At the ACEA stand it will be possible to try out Augmented Reality technology using the Microsoft Hololens 2 visor, which allows the technology to express its full potential.
