Human-in-the-Loop by Design: An Industry 5.0 Reference Architecture for AI in Textile and Apparel Factories

Industry 4.0 emphasised connectivity, automation and data. Industry 5.0, as articulated by the European Commission, adds three priorities: human-centricity, sustainability and resilience. For labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and apparel, where most value is still added by people at machines, human-centricity is not an add-on but the main design constraint. This paper proposes a reference architecture for introducing artificial intelligence (AI) into such factories in a way that keeps people accountable for decisions. The architecture has four layers: a shared operational data model, an event and ledger layer, an intelligence layer that senses, predicts, explains and recommends, and a decision layer in which named people approve, modify or reject AI proposals. We describe the decision loop, define governance principles for approvals and audit, relate the design to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, and discuss which decisions are suitable for automation and which should remain human. The paper is conceptual and draws on published literature and practical experience; it does not report a controlled evaluation. Intelactory Working Paper Series, WP-2026-03. https://intelactory.com