User-Centered Design of an Augmented Reality Tool for Smart Operator in Production Environment

In the context of Industry 4.0, Operator 4.0 paradigm represents a key factor when dealing with the integration of new digital technologies into smart factories that are suited for workers with different skills, capabilities, and preferences. In this regard, to encourage the introduction of these new digital solutions and achieve high user acceptance, it is fundamental to consider human factors and put the worker at the center of the development process through the adoption of structured design strategies such as user-centered design (UCD) approaches. In this perspective, the paper proposes a novel Augmented Reality (AR) tool for supporting operators at the workplace, in real-time, while performing inspection activities on built products. The proposed tool has been developed according to a user-centered design approach by involving end-users in the various design and testing stages. Preliminary tests have been conducted with representative users on a real case study to assess the usability of the proposed solution. The outcomes are very encouraging and lead us towards further investigations for effective and valid implementation of this AR tool in an industrial scenario.