HumanTech Day 1

One year after the start of work, the first HumanTech event took place on January 26. HumanTech is the project selected and funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) for the 2023-2027 period as part of the ‘Departments of Excellence’ initiative.

One year after the start of the HumanTech-Humans and Technology project, the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering of Politecnico di Milano promoted the ‘HumanTech – Day 1’ event. Professors and researchers shared studies and ongoing research on human-technology interaction to inspire, raise awareness and stimulate new ideas. The aim is to redefine the complex relationship between technology, people and society to enable a sustainable digital transition of industrial systems.

After the welcome speeches of Raffaella Cagliano, Head of the Department, and Federico Caniato, coordinator of the HumanTech project, three members of the project’s Scientific Board shared and discussed their perspectives on the topic: Prof.Katharina Hölzle, Director of the Institute for Human Factors and Technology Management, IAT – Universität Stuttgart; Prof. Torbjörn H. Netland, Chair of Production and Operations Management, ETH Zürich; and Prof. Viola Schiaffonati, Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science, Politecnico di Milano.

In the second part, moderated by Prof. Guido Micheli, the new laboratories developed and funded within the project were presented: ‘Cognitive Ergonomics in Cyber Physical Systems Laboratory – CORE Lab’, headed by Prof. Matthias Klumpp; ‘Behavioural Research in Immersive Environment Laboratory – BRIEL Lab’, headed by Prof. Lucio Lamberti; and ‘HumanTech DataHub’, headed by Prof. Carlotta Orsenigo.

The CORE laboratory focuses on the study of cognitive ergonomics and, by means of advanced devices and sensors, conducts experimental studies on human cognitive and physiological reactions in the interaction between people and technology during work activities typical of production and logistics contexts in real or realistically reproduced settings.

The BRIEL laboratory supports research activities on the analysis of behavioural, cognitive and emotional factors in economic behaviour, by conducting experimental research that leverages neuroscience applied in physical, digital and immersive contexts that are highly similar to real work and technology use environments.

The HumanTech Data Hub is a platform where all data in support of the HumanTech research programme can be securely collected and stored, offering a single, simplified tool for data access and processing.

The laboratories are available to researchers of the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering (DIG) and are open to collaborations with companies and institutions.

After the rich poster session with more than 50 research papers, in the afternoon, at MADE Competence Centre Industry 4.0 and PoliHub, participants were able to watch the experiments in the laboratories, get to know the equipment and explore the potential of the laboratories, thanks also to parallel seminars held in the same areas, and conclude with reflections on the proposal of a HumanTech Manifesto.

It was a day full of reflections and stimuli, to involve and promote collaboration between different departmental research groups and imagine, together and synergistically, new development scenarios.