Occupational Robotics Research Prioritization, 22264-22266 [2018-10165]
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[FR Doc. 2018–10224 Filed 5–11–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163–18–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[Docket Number CDC–2018–0046, NIOSH–
313]
Occupational Robotics Research
Prioritization
National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC),
Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS).
ACTION: Request for information and
comment.
AGENCY:
The National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health of the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has recently established the
Center for Occupational Robotics
Research. NIOSH is requesting
information to guide the prioritization
of research to be undertaken by the
Center. NIOSH is seeking input on
priority gaps in knowledge on the safety
and health of humans working with
robotics technology, with an emphasis
on worker safety and health research
which is unlikely to be completed by
other federal agencies, academia, and
the private sector.
SUMMARY:
Table of Contents
• DATES:
• ADDRESSES:
• FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT:
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•
•
•
•
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
BACKGROUND:
INFORMATION NEEDS:
REFERENCES:
Electronic or written comments
must be received by July 13, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by CDC–2018–0046 and
docket number NIOSH–313, by any of
the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH
Docket Office, 1090 Tusculum Avenue,
MS C–34, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226–1998.
Instructions: All information received
in response to this notice must include
the agency name and docket number
[CDC–2018–0046; NIOSH–313]. All
relevant comments received will be
posted without change to
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. For
access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to
www.regulations.gov. All information
received in response to this notice will
also be available for public examination
and copying at the NIOSH Docket
Office, 1150 Tusculum Avenue, Room
155, Cincinnati, OH 45226–1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Hongwei Hsiao, Ph.D., NIOSH Division
of Safety Research, 1095 Willowdale
Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, 304–
285–5910 (not a toll-free number),
hhsiao@cdc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Industrial
robots have been a significant part of the
workplace for decades. Within the last
decade, there have been dramatic
advances in robotics technology which
have changed the types of work
performed by robots and how robots
interact with human workers. Whereas
traditional industrial robots operate in
cages or cells that are off-limits to
human workers, newer types of robots
are designed to work in collaboration
with and in shared spaces with human
workers. In collaborative operation,
robots work in close proximity to
humans and can potentially come into
contact depending on the collaborative
functionality implemented into the
robot system. The use of robots has been
rapidly increasing in many industrial
sectors, including the manufacturing,
healthcare, mining, and construction
sectors. The International Federation of
Robotics reported that the worldwide
growth of industrial robots will be at
least 15% annually from 2018 to 2020,
and the stock of operational industrial
robots will exceed 3 million units by the
end of 2020 [IFR 2017]. Within the
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\14MYN1.SGM
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amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 93 / Monday, May 14, 2018 / Notices
United States, sales of robots for
industrial applications were at an alltime high in 2016, and have continued
to increase since 2010 [IFR 2017].
The IFR also reports that robots
equipped with collaborative
functionality and utilizing machine
learning and artificial intelligence will
lead the robotics field in the coming
years, and that robots will be
increasingly used by small and medium
sized businesses.
Robots are changing the industrial
landscape which will have significant
implications for worker safety and
health. Worker safety and health may be
improved through increased use of
robots for work that can be dangerous to
humans, including repetitive tasks
which are hazardous for
musculoskeletal health, and work
performed in hazardous environments,
such as confined spaces and work at
heights. However, there also are
concerns for human worker safety and
health arising from the rapid advances
of robotics technologies, lack of
experience working closely with new
and emerging types of robots in varied
work settings, and the potential for
unforeseen hazards and unanticipated
consequences [Murashov et al. 2016].
Predicted rapid growth in availability
and sales of robots designed to work in
close cooperation with human workers,
and continued expansion into broader
industry sectors and small and medium
sized businesses, may present new risks
or exacerbate existing risks for many
workplaces.
While the volume of robotics research
being conducted by the private sector,
academia, and other federal agencies is
large [Robotics Virtual Organization
2016], research focusing on the
implications for worker safety and
health has been limited, but critical.
Whereas other federal agencies and
academic programs strongly support
technological advances in robotics and
promote use in certain industries,
NIOSH aims to focus on worker safety
and well-being with its vast experience
in studying worker safety in the lab and
in the field. Additionally, NIOSH has
knowledge and expertise on diverse
characteristics of worker populations,
occupations and tasks, industries, and
workplace environments.
In September 2017, NIOSH
established the Center for Occupational
Robotics Research (CORR), https://
www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/robotics/
default.html. The Center’s mission is to
provide scientific leadership to guide
the development and use of robots in
the workplace that enhance worker
safety, health, and well-being. The
Center covers traditional fixed and
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Jkt 244001
caged robots, current and emerging
robot systems (e.g., robots equipped
with collaborative functionality, coexisting and mobile robots, powered
exoskeletons/exosuits, drones, and offroad autonomous vehicles), and future
robots utilizing artificial intelligence.
The Center will conduct and encourage
research on robotics as engineering
controls to improve workplace safety, as
well as robots as potential hazards to
worker safety and well-being, including
psychosocial impacts from humans
working closely with robots. The Center
will not address non-powered
exoskeletons, algorithms that do not
involve machine movement (e.g.,
software bots that write news stories),
and robot functions and efficiency. The
Center will work in partnership with
academic researchers, trade
associations, robot manufacturers and
integrators, employers using robotics
technology, labor organizations, and
other federal agencies. The Center aims
to fill gaps in worker safety and health
knowledge that are unlikely to be
addressed independently by other
federal agencies, academia, and the
private sector.
The Center for Occupational Robotics
Research has nominally identified
research needs to be addressed by the
Center. These research needs are
consistent with robot-related research
goals included in the recently finalized
NIOSH Strategic Plan: FYs 2019–2023,
but are more detailed. The research
needs are organized by the four research
types conducted by NIOSH: Basic/
etiologic, intervention, translation, and
surveillance. NIOSH is seeking feedback
on potential refinements to these
research needs that address important
worker safety and health knowledge
gaps that have not been addressed, and
how the identified research should be
prioritized. The identified research
needs follow.
Basic/etiologic: This type of research
builds a foundation of scientific
knowledge to base future interventions.
Most laboratory research falls into this
category, as well as exposure
assessment. Robot-related injuries occur
as a result of complex interactions of
multiple risk factors which can be
characterized as: Human-related, robotrelated, and task-related and
environmental. Research needs in this
area include:
• Identification of human worker risk
factors and refinement and development
of science-based requirements and pain
and injury thresholds for human worker
contact with robots in the workplace.
The factors include workers’ cognitive
capability, physiological characteristics,
biometrics, and anthropometry, and
PO 00000
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22265
may have different implications
associated with different types and
characteristics of robotics technologies.
This line of research also includes
friction and shear injury thresholds
from exoskeleton contact with body
regions and joint hyperextension risks
associated with wearable robots.
• Study of human workers’
acceptance to working with and
alongside robots and its impacts on
human-robot interaction and worker
safety and well-being. This includes
workers’ attitudes, trust, and perceived
safety.
• Measurement of worker’s
situational awareness, which refers to
an ability to identify, process, and
comprehend environmental
information, and its impacts on humanrobot interactions under normal and
abnormal operating conditions. This
research includes evaluation of existing
situational awareness research methods
and tools for application to varied
robotics technologies and work
environments.
• Study of safe, intuitive, and useful
robot technologies and engineering
features of collaborative and co-existing
robot systems (e.g., enhanced robot
sensors, mobility and navigation
systems, adaptation and self-learning
systems, design and programming of
autonomous robots, automation
operation assistance systems, and cybersocial-physical security) for hazard
exposure assessments, field inspections,
and incident investigations.
• Study of interface and safety
communication features of robots with
collaborative functions, powered
exoskeletons (i.e. wearable robots),
service robots, and other interactive
robots that may cause human injuries
from sources such as unintended
contact, collision, vibration, and
overexertion.
• Identification of task-related and
environmental risk factors that are
specific to certain industrial sectors that
have a high prevalence of robots (e.g.,
manufacturing), or in which robotics
technology is beginning to be
introduced (e.g., mining, healthcare,
services, construction, agriculture,
public safety, and wholesale sectors).
• Study of hazardous situations
outside normal operating conditions,
such as robot breakdowns and
malfunctions and unexpected changes
in the environment.
Intervention: This type of research
engages in the development and
evaluation of a solution to an
occupational safety and health problem
or the improvement of an existing
intervention. Intervention is a broad
term that includes engineering controls,
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personal protective equipment, training,
and fact sheets and other written
materials intended to inform and change
worker behavior. There are two primary
thrusts to this area of occupational
robotics research: (1) Evaluation of
robotics technologies as preventive
measures for existing workplace hazards
and (2) development and evaluation of
interventions to reduce robot-related
injury incidents and improve the safety
and well-being of human workers
working with robotics technologies.
Specific research needs in this area
include:
• Collection and analysis of
differences in fatalities, injuries, and
near-miss incidences between
workplaces using robotics technologies
and similar workplaces without robotics
technology.
• Evaluation of robotics technologies
as interventions for preventing existing
hazards and resulting injuries in the
workplace such as musculoskeletal
disorders.
• Evaluation of training that helps
workers acquire skills, knowledge, and
abilities needed to work with robots in
complex and dynamic industrial
environments.
• Study of the effectiveness of
existing safety standards, certifications,
and regulations for industrial robot
safety (e.g., ISO/TS 15066, ANSI/RIA
R15.06, ISO 10218.01, ISO 10218.02,
UL1740) in ensuring the safety and
well-being of human workers.
• Research on new workplace
interventions to improve the safety and
well-being of human workers working
with robotics technologies, including
engineering controls and administrative
controls. Research may address costs
and benefits, such as an assessment of
the costs of the intervention and
impacts on productivity.
Translation: This type of research
discovers strategies to translate research
findings and theoretical knowledge to
practices or technologies in the
workplace. This type of research seeks
to understand why available, effective,
evidence-based interventions are not
being adopted, and to facilitate the use
of existing or newly developed
interventions. Occupational robotics
research needs in this area include:
• Research on aids and barriers to
employers using long established safety
procedures for protecting workers from
traditional industrial robots.
• Development and evaluation of
plain-language guidance on preventing
robot-related injuries to workers.
• Development and evaluation of
dissemination strategies to facilitate the
use by employers and other
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18:02 May 11, 2018
Jkt 244001
stakeholders of existing and new
guidance.
• Study of awareness and acceptance
of organizations to using evidence-based
resources to implement robot safety
management programs.
Surveillance: Surveillance is a public
health term for the ongoing and
systematic collection, analysis, and
interpretation of data on health
outcomes (e.g., injuries and illnesses)
and contributors (e.g., behaviors or
actions), and the dissemination of these
data to those in position to take action.
Surveillance research includes
development of new methods, tools, and
analytic techniques. Current worker
injury data systems do not include
detailed information on how a robotrelated fatality or injury incident
occurred. There is case-based
information from investigations of
worker injury deaths conducted by
NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA).
However, these investigation findings
are limited to the traditional industrial
robots, and do not address emerging
robotics technologies. Additionally,
case-based information may not be
representative of all robot-related
fatalities. Occupational robotics
surveillance research needs include:
• Development of surveillance
methods and/or analytic techniques to
identify and monitor robot-related
injury incidents and risk factors, and
quantify the burden of occupational
injuries using existing data systems.
• Case-based investigations of
fatalities, injuries and near-miss
incidents involving new robotics
technologies to understand multifaceted contributors to the incident.
Background: The purpose of the
Request for Information is to seek input
on priority research areas that NIOSH
will address through the Center for
Occupational Robotics Research.
Information Needs: NIOSH is seeking
feedback on potential refinements to the
four broad research areas identified
above, any additional knowledge gaps
not addressed by these research areas,
and how the research areas should be
prioritized. Commenters are asked to
focus on research areas that NIOSH has
comparative advantage in, compared to
other federal agencies, academia, and
the private sector (i.e., worker safety and
well-being as opposed to robot
technologies and production). When
possible, NIOSH asks that commenters
provide data and citations of relevant
research to justify their comments.
NIOSH is also seeking recommendations
for key scientific articles addressing
worker safety and health and robotics
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that should guide our research
activities.
References:
Endsley M. and Jones D. [2013]. Designing
situational awareness: an approach to
user-centered design. Boca Raton, FL,
CRC Press.
International Federation of Robotics (IFR)
[2017]. Executive summary world
robotics 2017 industrial robots. [https://
ifr.org/downloads/press/Executive_
Summary_WR_2017_Industrial_
Robots.pdf].
Murashov V., Hearl F., Howard J. [2016].
Working safety with robot worker:
recommendations for the new
workplace. J Occup Environ Hyg
13(3):D61–71.
Robotics Virtual Organization [2016]. A
roadmap for U.S. Robotics: from internet
to robotics (2016 Edition). [https://
robotics-vo.us/node/562].
Dated: May 8, 2018.
John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2018–10165 Filed 5–11–18; 8:45 am]
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E:\FR\FM\14MYN1.SGM
14MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22264-22266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10165]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Docket Number CDC-2018-0046, NIOSH-313]
Occupational Robotics Research Prioritization
AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Request for information and comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently established
the Center for Occupational Robotics Research. NIOSH is requesting
information to guide the prioritization of research to be undertaken by
the Center. NIOSH is seeking input on priority gaps in knowledge on the
safety and health of humans working with robotics technology, with an
emphasis on worker safety and health research which is unlikely to be
completed by other federal agencies, academia, and the private sector.
Table of Contents
DATES:
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
BACKGROUND:
INFORMATION NEEDS:
REFERENCES:
DATES: Electronic or written comments must be received by July 13,
2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by CDC-2018-0046 and
docket number NIOSH-313, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, NIOSH Docket Office, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, MS C-34, Cincinnati,
Ohio 45226-1998.
Instructions: All information received in response to this notice
must include the agency name and docket number [CDC-2018-0046; NIOSH-
313]. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For
access to the docket to read background documents or comments received,
go to www.regulations.gov. All information received in response to this
notice will also be available for public examination and copying at the
NIOSH Docket Office, 1150 Tusculum Avenue, Room 155, Cincinnati, OH
45226-1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hongwei Hsiao, Ph.D., NIOSH Division
of Safety Research, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, 304-
285-5910 (not a toll-free number), [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Industrial robots have been a significant
part of the workplace for decades. Within the last decade, there have
been dramatic advances in robotics technology which have changed the
types of work performed by robots and how robots interact with human
workers. Whereas traditional industrial robots operate in cages or
cells that are off-limits to human workers, newer types of robots are
designed to work in collaboration with and in shared spaces with human
workers. In collaborative operation, robots work in close proximity to
humans and can potentially come into contact depending on the
collaborative functionality implemented into the robot system. The use
of robots has been rapidly increasing in many industrial sectors,
including the manufacturing, healthcare, mining, and construction
sectors. The International Federation of Robotics reported that the
worldwide growth of industrial robots will be at least 15% annually
from 2018 to 2020, and the stock of operational industrial robots will
exceed 3 million units by the end of 2020 [IFR 2017]. Within the
[[Page 22265]]
United States, sales of robots for industrial applications were at an
all-time high in 2016, and have continued to increase since 2010 [IFR
2017].
The IFR also reports that robots equipped with collaborative
functionality and utilizing machine learning and artificial
intelligence will lead the robotics field in the coming years, and that
robots will be increasingly used by small and medium sized businesses.
Robots are changing the industrial landscape which will have
significant implications for worker safety and health. Worker safety
and health may be improved through increased use of robots for work
that can be dangerous to humans, including repetitive tasks which are
hazardous for musculoskeletal health, and work performed in hazardous
environments, such as confined spaces and work at heights. However,
there also are concerns for human worker safety and health arising from
the rapid advances of robotics technologies, lack of experience working
closely with new and emerging types of robots in varied work settings,
and the potential for unforeseen hazards and unanticipated consequences
[Murashov et al. 2016]. Predicted rapid growth in availability and
sales of robots designed to work in close cooperation with human
workers, and continued expansion into broader industry sectors and
small and medium sized businesses, may present new risks or exacerbate
existing risks for many workplaces.
While the volume of robotics research being conducted by the
private sector, academia, and other federal agencies is large [Robotics
Virtual Organization 2016], research focusing on the implications for
worker safety and health has been limited, but critical. Whereas other
federal agencies and academic programs strongly support technological
advances in robotics and promote use in certain industries, NIOSH aims
to focus on worker safety and well-being with its vast experience in
studying worker safety in the lab and in the field. Additionally, NIOSH
has knowledge and expertise on diverse characteristics of worker
populations, occupations and tasks, industries, and workplace
environments.
In September 2017, NIOSH established the Center for Occupational
Robotics Research (CORR), https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/robotics/default.html. The Center's mission is to provide scientific leadership
to guide the development and use of robots in the workplace that
enhance worker safety, health, and well-being. The Center covers
traditional fixed and caged robots, current and emerging robot systems
(e.g., robots equipped with collaborative functionality, co-existing
and mobile robots, powered exoskeletons/exosuits, drones, and off-road
autonomous vehicles), and future robots utilizing artificial
intelligence. The Center will conduct and encourage research on
robotics as engineering controls to improve workplace safety, as well
as robots as potential hazards to worker safety and well-being,
including psychosocial impacts from humans working closely with robots.
The Center will not address non-powered exoskeletons, algorithms that
do not involve machine movement (e.g., software bots that write news
stories), and robot functions and efficiency. The Center will work in
partnership with academic researchers, trade associations, robot
manufacturers and integrators, employers using robotics technology,
labor organizations, and other federal agencies. The Center aims to
fill gaps in worker safety and health knowledge that are unlikely to be
addressed independently by other federal agencies, academia, and the
private sector.
The Center for Occupational Robotics Research has nominally
identified research needs to be addressed by the Center. These research
needs are consistent with robot-related research goals included in the
recently finalized NIOSH Strategic Plan: FYs 2019-2023, but are more
detailed. The research needs are organized by the four research types
conducted by NIOSH: Basic/etiologic, intervention, translation, and
surveillance. NIOSH is seeking feedback on potential refinements to
these research needs that address important worker safety and health
knowledge gaps that have not been addressed, and how the identified
research should be prioritized. The identified research needs follow.
Basic/etiologic: This type of research builds a foundation of
scientific knowledge to base future interventions. Most laboratory
research falls into this category, as well as exposure assessment.
Robot-related injuries occur as a result of complex interactions of
multiple risk factors which can be characterized as: Human-related,
robot-related, and task-related and environmental. Research needs in
this area include:
Identification of human worker risk factors and refinement
and development of science-based requirements and pain and injury
thresholds for human worker contact with robots in the workplace. The
factors include workers' cognitive capability, physiological
characteristics, biometrics, and anthropometry, and may have different
implications associated with different types and characteristics of
robotics technologies. This line of research also includes friction and
shear injury thresholds from exoskeleton contact with body regions and
joint hyperextension risks associated with wearable robots.
Study of human workers' acceptance to working with and
alongside robots and its impacts on human-robot interaction and worker
safety and well-being. This includes workers' attitudes, trust, and
perceived safety.
Measurement of worker's situational awareness, which
refers to an ability to identify, process, and comprehend environmental
information, and its impacts on human-robot interactions under normal
and abnormal operating conditions. This research includes evaluation of
existing situational awareness research methods and tools for
application to varied robotics technologies and work environments.
Study of safe, intuitive, and useful robot technologies
and engineering features of collaborative and co-existing robot systems
(e.g., enhanced robot sensors, mobility and navigation systems,
adaptation and self-learning systems, design and programming of
autonomous robots, automation operation assistance systems, and cyber-
social-physical security) for hazard exposure assessments, field
inspections, and incident investigations.
Study of interface and safety communication features of
robots with collaborative functions, powered exoskeletons (i.e.
wearable robots), service robots, and other interactive robots that may
cause human injuries from sources such as unintended contact,
collision, vibration, and overexertion.
Identification of task-related and environmental risk
factors that are specific to certain industrial sectors that have a
high prevalence of robots (e.g., manufacturing), or in which robotics
technology is beginning to be introduced (e.g., mining, healthcare,
services, construction, agriculture, public safety, and wholesale
sectors).
Study of hazardous situations outside normal operating
conditions, such as robot breakdowns and malfunctions and unexpected
changes in the environment.
Intervention: This type of research engages in the development and
evaluation of a solution to an occupational safety and health problem
or the improvement of an existing intervention. Intervention is a broad
term that includes engineering controls,
[[Page 22266]]
personal protective equipment, training, and fact sheets and other
written materials intended to inform and change worker behavior. There
are two primary thrusts to this area of occupational robotics research:
(1) Evaluation of robotics technologies as preventive measures for
existing workplace hazards and (2) development and evaluation of
interventions to reduce robot-related injury incidents and improve the
safety and well-being of human workers working with robotics
technologies. Specific research needs in this area include:
Collection and analysis of differences in fatalities,
injuries, and near-miss incidences between workplaces using robotics
technologies and similar workplaces without robotics technology.
Evaluation of robotics technologies as interventions for
preventing existing hazards and resulting injuries in the workplace
such as musculoskeletal disorders.
Evaluation of training that helps workers acquire skills,
knowledge, and abilities needed to work with robots in complex and
dynamic industrial environments.
Study of the effectiveness of existing safety standards,
certifications, and regulations for industrial robot safety (e.g., ISO/
TS 15066, ANSI/RIA R15.06, ISO 10218.01, ISO 10218.02, UL1740) in
ensuring the safety and well-being of human workers.
Research on new workplace interventions to improve the
safety and well-being of human workers working with robotics
technologies, including engineering controls and administrative
controls. Research may address costs and benefits, such as an
assessment of the costs of the intervention and impacts on
productivity.
Translation: This type of research discovers strategies to
translate research findings and theoretical knowledge to practices or
technologies in the workplace. This type of research seeks to
understand why available, effective, evidence-based interventions are
not being adopted, and to facilitate the use of existing or newly
developed interventions. Occupational robotics research needs in this
area include:
Research on aids and barriers to employers using long
established safety procedures for protecting workers from traditional
industrial robots.
Development and evaluation of plain-language guidance on
preventing robot-related injuries to workers.
Development and evaluation of dissemination strategies to
facilitate the use by employers and other stakeholders of existing and
new guidance.
Study of awareness and acceptance of organizations to
using evidence-based resources to implement robot safety management
programs.
Surveillance: Surveillance is a public health term for the ongoing
and systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on
health outcomes (e.g., injuries and illnesses) and contributors (e.g.,
behaviors or actions), and the dissemination of these data to those in
position to take action. Surveillance research includes development of
new methods, tools, and analytic techniques. Current worker injury data
systems do not include detailed information on how a robot-related
fatality or injury incident occurred. There is case-based information
from investigations of worker injury deaths conducted by NIOSH and the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). However, these
investigation findings are limited to the traditional industrial
robots, and do not address emerging robotics technologies.
Additionally, case-based information may not be representative of all
robot-related fatalities. Occupational robotics surveillance research
needs include:
Development of surveillance methods and/or analytic
techniques to identify and monitor robot-related injury incidents and
risk factors, and quantify the burden of occupational injuries using
existing data systems.
Case-based investigations of fatalities, injuries and
near-miss incidents involving new robotics technologies to understand
multi-faceted contributors to the incident.
Background: The purpose of the Request for Information is to seek
input on priority research areas that NIOSH will address through the
Center for Occupational Robotics Research.
Information Needs: NIOSH is seeking feedback on potential
refinements to the four broad research areas identified above, any
additional knowledge gaps not addressed by these research areas, and
how the research areas should be prioritized. Commenters are asked to
focus on research areas that NIOSH has comparative advantage in,
compared to other federal agencies, academia, and the private sector
(i.e., worker safety and well-being as opposed to robot technologies
and production). When possible, NIOSH asks that commenters provide data
and citations of relevant research to justify their comments. NIOSH is
also seeking recommendations for key scientific articles addressing
worker safety and health and robotics that should guide our research
activities.
References:
Endsley M. and Jones D. [2013]. Designing situational awareness: an
approach to user-centered design. Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press.
International Federation of Robotics (IFR) [2017]. Executive summary
world robotics 2017 industrial robots. [https://ifr.org/downloads/press/Executive_Summary_WR_2017_Industrial_Robots.pdf].
Murashov V., Hearl F., Howard J. [2016]. Working safety with robot
worker: recommendations for the new workplace. J Occup Environ Hyg
13(3):D61-71.
Robotics Virtual Organization [2016]. A roadmap for U.S. Robotics:
from internet to robotics (2016 Edition). [https://robotics-vo.us/node/562].
Dated: May 8, 2018.
John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2018-10165 Filed 5-11-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P
