Pervasive Computing for Safe Distancing and Production Optimization in Manufacturing: Challenges and Opportunities

The COVID-19 crisis resulted in a sudden and dramatic change in how manufacturing environments operate. Safe distancing among workers plays a pivotal role in preventing the spread of viral diseases such as COVID-19. Although general purpose commercial products already help prevention, enforcing ad hoc distancing without manufacturing production optimization can significantly decrease the production performance throughput. In this paper, we highlight the intrinsic trade-off of two concepts: worker health preservation versus factory productivity. We first motivate the importance of safe distancing in manufacturing shop-floors by analyzing a worker mobility dataset in a manual assembly scenario, given the safe distancing public health recommendations. Then, we suggest the quantification of the relation of the two concepts through exploiting pervasive computing technologies. Furthermore, we provide an insightful recommendation on the need of a holistic methodological framework, specifically tailored for addressing the Industry 4.0 requirements, as well as the worker necessities.