Ergonomics and safety in human–collaborative robot interaction: A review of literature for manufacturing industries

Ergonomics and safety play a crucial role in the development of human-robot collaboration (HRC) systems in the context of Industry 5.0. However, implementing ergonomics and safety measures in manufacturing industries remains challenging due to the absence of standardized guidelines, the diversity of collaborative robot system sectors, and the overlap between ergonomics and safety considerations. Given the critical nature of ergonomics and safety in HRC, there is a compelling opportunity to reduce implementation costs and improve collaboration effectiveness. To explore this, a review of relevant literature is conducted, focusing on human-collaborative robot interaction systems from the perspectives of ergonomics and safety, along with the associated challenges and potential directions for future research. This review highlights key findings from existing research, underscoring the importance of ergonomic and safety practices in HRC, and sheds light on critical research areas such as human-centered system design, the determination of collaborative operation modes, and managerial evaluation strategies. Despite notable advancements, significant challenges persist in integrating human-robot collaboration systems within manufacturing industries. This review recommends that future research should focus on accident modeling and system dynamics simulation to enhance the effectiveness of these systems further. • Ergonomics and safety in human-collaborative robot interaction systems are reviewed. • Managerial evaluation system should be implemented and verified. • Handling the complexity of human-robot collaboration systems needs analysis tools. • It needs to develop the complex system modeling and simulation. • Accident modeling and system dynamics simulation are the future research focus.