Mercedes Sanchis (IBV): AI has resulted in an 80% reduction in the evaluation time of repetitive tasks.
Artificial intelligence is being used to improve occupational risk prevention, with the potential to reduce the time spent by a technician evaluating repetitive tasks or awkward postures by up to 80%. Mercedes Sanchis, director of Innovation in Occupational Health and Wellbeing at the Instituto de Biomecánica (IBV), notes the growing use of virtual reality and avatars in workstation designs, as well as the application of inertial sensors and electromyography when evaluating exoskeleton use.
The director of Innovation in Welfare and Occupational Health at the Instituto de Biomecánica states that, “it is possible to innovate in occupational ergonomics” and highlights the IBV's most innovative projects. These include “the application of artificial intelligence to the evaluation of ergonomic risks, virtual reality and avatars with different anthropometric profiles for the design of workstations, and inertial sensors and electromyography for the evaluation of the use of exoskeletons from a biomechanical point of view.”
One of the most relevant innovations is an artificial intelligence-based biomechanical analysis software for ergonomic risk assessment: ergoIA (https://ergoia.net/). “The system analyses videos recorded from any device and issues ergonomic risk reports automatically, thereby reducing the time spent by a technician assessing repetitive tasks or awkward postures by up to 80%.”
Behaviours and Interactions
The Instituto de Biomecánica (https://www.ibv.org/) is a technology centre that studies the behaviour of the human body and its interaction with the different products, environments and services in our surroundings. The company focuses its R&D efforts on understanding human beings from an anthropometric perspective, including their physical and cognitive capabilities, as well as their needs and preferences. This knowledge is then used to assist companies in innovating their products and/or services by placing people at the centre. “Indeed, the IBV's innovation strategy is predicated on the principle of listening to and observing people, and on the conviction that they are capable of innovating, validating their contributions with minimal effort, and learning from mistakes.”
Sanchis explains that “the objectives of all the innovations implemented by the IBV's Welfare and Occupational Health area are twofold: to enhance workers’ quality of life by improving their working conditions and to enhance companies’ competitiveness by improving both the health of their workers and the efficiency of occupational risk prevention professionals. Furthermore, the incorporation of technology that performs tasks of lower added value allows these professionals to focus on the implementation of preventive measures, thereby increasing efficiency.”