Human-Oriented Manufacturing System (HOMS) - Does it suggest a new type of robot?

Today, human needs have been left behind in a lot of social institutions like science, technology and many oth­ ers. Against this trend we proposed the concept of human-oriented manufac­ turing system (HaMS) in 1990 in Inte llig ent Manufacturing System (IMS) project. This paper introduces the concept and one of the element technologies for I laMS we have devel­ oped as well as an example of actual HOMSs in Japanese industry. Lastly we introduce the "satisfaction measure­ ment system," which is indispensable for the realization of HaMS.