Quincy – Qualification Innovation through Network Collaboration and Technology
The workforce required to build solar parks represents a bottleneck for the energy transition. Can digital innovations help to train unskilled workers faster and more effectively? The Quincy research and development project is therefor creating a sensor-supported learning platform, which is to be developed to market maturity and distributed within a European collaboration network.
The application case is the installation of large photovoltaic systems on open spaces. Industry partner MEISER Solar is providing a learning platform for the installation of substructures. This will be further developed in the project into an innovative assistance system for sensor-supported work and learning. For the first time, sensor technology, AI-based activity recognition, and adaptive learning software will be combined into an integrated platform for work on construction sites. Sensors – such as those in smartphones or fitness wristbands – detect the movements of workers. The software compares the movements recorded by the sensors with the planned activity. This enables the app to provide feedback in the event of errors, provide appropriate learning content, or encourage healthier posture. At the same time, it facilitates the management of large construction sites.
Quincy aims to create added value on various levels:
- PV companies can use the smart assistance system to make their processes more efficient and thus drive forward the energy transition.
- Sensor-supported learning enhances the qualifications of workers within the framework of human-centered workplace design and thus also counteracts the shortage of skilled workers.
- Quincy is also researching how ethical aspects can be taken into account even before digital technologies are introduced, thereby contributing to the conceptual development of Responsible Digital Innovation (RDI).
- The project is establishing a European collaboration network to enable knowledge transfer to various industries and European countries. In the future, sensor-supported learning could be transferred to rail and road construction, for example.
As one of ten EuKoNet projects, Quincy is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFTR) and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) in the program “Future of Work” as part of the program “Future of Value Creation – Research on Production, Services, and Work.”
