{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T06:37:08Z","timestamp":1772692628699,"version":"3.50.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"group-title":"SSRN","reference-count":0,"publisher":"Elsevier BV","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) and cognitive workload are pressing challenges in industrial environments, affecting workers&amp;apos; well-being and operational efficiency. HRC offers a promising solution by integrating collaborative robots (cobots) in assembly workstations. This study adopts a Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach to develop and assess a Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) workstation, prioritizing ergonomic principles to optimize physical and cognitive workload. A controlled experimental assessment compared two cobot assistance strategies: Request-Based Approach (RBA) and Anticipatory Approach (AA), which were tested within a physical and cognitive assessment framework. This framework included self-reports (NASA Task-Load Index), observational metrics (quantification of the number of errors and task completion time), and direct measurement methods (kinematic analysis through an optical motion tracking system). A total of 40 participants were recruited for this study, each performing the assembly task three times (considering three different window types) under each of the experimental assistance conditions. The findings reveal that AA significantly reduces cognitive workload, task completion time, and error rates. Kinematic analyses further validate these outcomes, showing improved posture under AA. These results underscore the potential of anticipatory cobot behavior to enhance worker well-being and operational efficiency, offering valuable insights for designing the next generation of ergonomically optimized HRC systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.6329636","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T05:18:44Z","timestamp":1772687924000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Human-centered design for assistive robotic assembly workstations: an in-depth ergonomic assessment of different assistance strategies"],"prefix":"10.2139","author":[{"given":"Andr\u00e9","family":"Cardoso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Carla","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2715-4037","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Estela","family":"Bicho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1991-9418","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ana  Cristina","family":"Braga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Prieto Veloso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Colim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"78","container-title":[],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T05:18:44Z","timestamp":1772687924000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ssrn.com\/abstract=6329636"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2139\/ssrn.6329636","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}