Designing Human–Robot Collaborative Workstations: An ECS-Based Framework for Efficiency and Worker Empowerment

Human–robot collaborative workstations are increasingly deployed in industry, yet their design mainly focuses on productivity and ergonomics, with limited consideration of worker empowerment. This paper proposes a framework integrating Enabling Collaborative Situations (ECSs) into the design and evaluation of collaborative assembly systems. Following an exploratory design-based case study approach, the framework is implemented through the development of a physical demonstrator workstation in a realistic assembly context. It structures task allocation and interaction design while introducing an operational ECS evaluation grid combining industrial performance, ergonomics, and worker experience. The results suggest that collaboration design can preserve expected industrial performance while expanding worker autonomy, supporting work activity, and providing a basis for more empowering human–robot collaborative workstations.