  Several studies report that people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) have low employment rates and major difficulties in maintaining
occupation (Hendricks, 2010). Adopting smart and interactive technology,
promoted by Industry 4.0, can be a valid solution to improve social inclusion
in the workplace. The present work describes the design and development process
of the multimodal device (A)MICO (acronym for 'A Multimodal device to improve
inclusive Interaction between Cobot and Operator'), aimed to improve the user
experience of ASD workers interacting with collaborative robots (cobots) in
production lines. (A)MICO proposes a new intuitive mode of communication in
which information about the cobot activity is transferred through acoustic and
visual feedback. Lights and sounds are designed to make the user aware of the
cobot's activity and gain control of the situation. To define the optimal
feedback configuration, a co-design process has been performed involving five
users with high functioning autism (HFA). The inclusion of users with HFA in
the design process allows to analyse the system from different perspectives and
increase the acceptance of the final product (Francis et al., 2009). In
addition, (A)MICO is designed to be integrated into a pre-existing cobot system
and its feedback can be customized making job tasks more human-friendly and
accessible to all. To achieve this purpose, Design for All principles were
taken into consideration since the preliminary stages of the study, in order to
develop a device that could represent a valuable aid in improving the
well-being and productivity for both neurotypical and neurodiverse users.
