As we transition toward Industry 5.0, factories increasingly require seamless cognitive collaboration between front-line workers and robotic arms.
Currently, robot arm control is complex and maintenance-intensive, demanding high learning curves and professional engineers—a situation underscored by the fact that traditional programming methods still depend on specialised expertise. With the Chinese robot industry generating over 130 billion yuan in operating income and facing a talent gap expected to widen from 3 million to over 4.5 million by 2025, there is a critical need for a low-cost, user-friendly interaction solution.
To address this, I have developed a sensor interface using flexible conductive 3D printing materials that replaces cumbersome pendant controls. This innovative system utilises resistance cross-sensing to allow workers to intuitively define and execute robotic arm behaviours, democratising robotic interaction for cooperative work environments.
