Using the TRL-methodology to Design Supporting ICT-tools for Production Operators

The Technology Readiness Level or TRL, has a long history at NASA and American Department of Defence (DoD), when designing and testing new technologies. Could this methodology be used in a production system context? Due to the increased information complexity in production systems today new technologies and prototypes have to be developed and tested more frequently. Cognitive automation strategies are becoming a competitive benefit for the companies that have a standardisation when it comes to prototyping and testing. The aim of this paper is to show how the TRL could be used to design supporting ICT-tools for operators in Swedish production. The internal testing has been done at the university lab, and the external tests have been done in two industrial case studies as an input for the results in this paper. Results show that even though it is good to have a structured methodology to follow, it is difficult to put the methodology to use in a different context.