About
Anna Konstant is a 3rd year PhD student in the Industrial and Systems Engineering program. She is a research assistant in the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab. Her research focuses on implementing collaborative robots in manufacturing environments to improve the physical ergonomics of the workers. Previously, she obtained a bachelor's and master's degree at Western Michigan University in Industrial Engineering.
Education
- MS, Industrial Engineering, Western Michigan University
- BS, Industrial Engineering, Western Michigan University
Research Description
My research focuses on improving the physical ergonomics for workers in the aviation and automotive industry. There are many physically demanding jobs in these industries that involve awkward postures, overhead exertions, repetitive motions, and noise and vibration exposure. These jobs have been difficult to automate because of the human skill required in the task. However, collaborative robots (cobots) are being implemented into these manufacturing environments to work together with the human. Cobots are safer, slower moving robots that are equipped with additional sensors, so the human and cobot can work closely together on a task. The goal of my research is to optimize the strengths and weaknesses between the human and the cobot to improve the performance and ergonomics of a job. Currently, I am working on two user studies that compare the physical and cognitive ergonomics and performance of a manufacturing job pre and post cobot implementation.
Affiliations
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society