Integration of Humans and Intelligent Technology at IHSI Modena 2020 in Italy
In February, before the spread of the corona virus posed major challenges to scientific conference activities worldwide, the Cluster scientist Mahsa Pourbafrani of the Chair of Data and Process Science and researcher within the Workstream B3.II, had the opportunity of participating in the "3rd Intelligent Human Systems Integration Conference" (IHSI) in Modena, Italy. The conference brings together international researchers in the field of human-machine interaction, AI, automation and intelligent systems, providing a global forum for the joint development of sustainable solutions for industry and research.
This year's IHSI was characterized by the cooperation with the Enzo Ferrari Department of Engineering at the University of Modena, focusing on automotive design and smart solutions for the transport sector, among others. Topics such as smart materials and inclusive human systems, simulation and modeling of technical systems and the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence were discussed within the framework of lectures and panels. The focus of the community was on integrating system intelligence and human interaction in the context of the production process in order to strengthen digital and networked production.
Mahsa Pourbafrani followed up on the optimization of production reality with her research topic. Her contribution focused on a framework tested within the production chain of an automobile factory, showing that process mining techniques can improve the running processes especially in the operational section. The importance of taking part in international conferences within a researcher’s own and extended field is summarized by Pourbafrani as follows: “We as researchers focus on a specific subject, meeting different people in the same area and their solutions to the problem in that area extends our view and gives us more ideas to solve our own specific problems.“
In the end, in addition to the productive dialgue with other researchers, there was also time left for exploring the city: “The city is one of the important cities for several known brands of cars. I had the chance to visit the Ferrari museum and also take part in a 2 hours tour in the middle of the city which was nice. Also, the unviersity campus was nice to visit.”