Occupational safety and health is an area of critical importance to organizations, especially in the industrial sector where workers are exposed to many physical hazards.

The traditional approach to this subject is based on a protocol that combines training and the use of (PPE), short for, personal protective equipment, which refers to any device or means that can protect the worker from a hazard.

However, with the current evolution of the industry it is necessary to change and improve the protective equipment used to protect workers from hazards in the workplace. New technologies are valuable in this regard, they can be used to design and implement timely safety measures in the workplace. They offer many possibilities for the creation of equipment that adapts to the needs of individual workers or to a particular area of work.

In regards to this line of research, our BISITE Group is working on the UPPER Project (aUgmented reality and smart Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for intelligent pRevention of occupational hazards and accessibility), which aims to design innovative PPE, whose design will integrate intelligent layers capable of responding to hazardous situations.

The Project deadline is planned for September 2020, with a total investment of 68.000 euros, financed through agreements on the realization of research projects, by public universities of Castile and Leon, in the area of occupational hazard prevention.

UPPER is an ambitious Project that aims to improve security and safety in the workplace, providing equipment that integrates intelligent layers capable of responding to hazardous situations, improving accessibility and providing specific support in training activities.

Posted by Juan M. Corchado

Juan Manuel Corchado (15 May 1971, Salamanca, Spain) is Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has been Vice-Rector for Research from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Science Park of the University of Salamanca. Elected as Dean of the Faculty of Science twice, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the West of Scotland. He leads the renowned BISITE (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) Research Group, created in 2000. Director of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and President of the AIR Institute, J. M. Corchado is also Visiting Professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology since January 2015, Visiting Professor at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda of the European Counter Terrorism Centre (EUROPOL). J. M. Corchado has been president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, and academic coordinator of the University Institute for Research in Art and Animation Technology at the University of Salamanca, as well as researcher at the Universities of Paisley (UK), Vigo (Spain) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK). He currently combines all his activity with the direction of Master programmes in Security, Digital Animation, Mobile Telephony, Information Systems Management, Internet of Things, Social Media, 3D Design and Printing, Blockchain, Z System, Industry 4.0, Agile Project Management, and Smart Cities & Intelligent Buildings, at the University of Salamanca and his work as editor-in-chief of the journals ADCAIJ (Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal), OJCST (Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology) or Electronics MDPI (Computer Science & Engineering section). J. M. Corchado mainly works on projects related to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Fog Computing, Edge Computing, Smart Cities, Smart Grids and Sentiment Analysis. He has recently been included in the board of trustees of the AstraZeneca Foundation, along with other health professionals and researchers recognised for bringing scientific knowledge closer to society.