Reconfigurable Interactive Environments for the Future of Work

Abstract

Inevitable technological progress changes the very nature of work. On the one hand, more and more processes are subject to automation, and cooperating with a robotic workforce becomes an increasing challenge. On the other hand, society is increasingly embracing diversity, and there is an emerging social need to build diverse and inclusive spaces for work. My research attempts to answer these challenges by designing, implementing, and evaluating a novel type of work environment: an Interactive Reconfigurable Environment (IRE) IREs will leverage artificial intelligence techniques to dynamically adapt the physical surfaces around a user to provide an efficient, usable and inclusive interface. An adaptive work environment will support concentration and productivity while ensuring work safety in mixed environments - industrial, semi-automatic, automatic, and, above all, in situations of cooperation between people and autonomous agents.