A methodological framework to integrate motion capture system and virtual reality for assembly system 4.0 workplace design

Nowadays new products are required more and more often. Since a certain product is assembled only on a specific Assembly System (AS), a new AS has to be designed every time a new product is developed. Similarly, since an AS is constituted by one or more workplaces, new workplaces need to be designed every time a new product is developed. However, this is not feasible considering the time- and resource-consuming AS workplace design procedures currently used (e.g., physical mock-ups and computer-aided systems). New solutions have thus emerged to accelerate the AS workplace design procedures, especially since the advent of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. Specifically, the combined use of motion capture (mocap) systems and Virtual Reality (VR) has been considered very promising, with many researchers showing its potential. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of them suggests a clear methodology to follow when designing AS workplaces using the mocap system and VR. In this paper, we thus aim to fill this gap by developing a methodological framework that describes in detail the different steps to be followed. Moreover, the methodological framework has been developed in such a way that both productivity and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) considerations are included. Furthermore, it encompasses the current ageing workforce scenario by explicitly including the ageing workforce’s main characteristics (reduced flexibility and strength and greater experience of older operators). A simple but representative case study has then been carried out to demonstrate how to use the methodological framework and to prove its validity.