GlossaryKind of term: Manufacturing termHuman-in-the-loop
What is human-in-the-loop?
Human-in-the-loop is a way of working in which a person reviews what software proposes and approves or changes it before it takes effect.
The decision step is a fixed part of the automated process and applies to whatever software proposes, calculates or extracts from a document. The decision and the responsibility stay with that person. The opposite is a fully automated step that carries through without human review.
When is a human step worthwhile?
How much a human step is worth depends on what happens when an error gets through, how well a person can spot it and how many decisions pass by each day. A review only works with the source alongside, such as the drawing next to the value, and when it remains clear what has been reviewed and what has not. Too many confirmations without distinction can lead to clicking through: the step still exists on paper, but the review is gone.
How does human-in-the-loop work in practice?
In estimating, the values that matter are the ones that set route and price: material, tolerances, roughness, finishing and threads. A tolerance class copied wrongly can change the operation and the gauge. Whoever catches that before the quote goes out prevents a price that falls apart on the floor. Recording who decided what and when makes the review traceable afterwards.
What is human-in-the-loop often confused with?
Human-in-the-loop is not human-on-the-loop, where the process runs on its own and a person only steps in when something deviates. Nor is it hardware-in-the-loop, where a controller is tested against a simulated machine or plant, for instance in virtual commissioning. And it is not confirm and correct: that is the action itself, human-in-the-loop the principle that a proposal only counts after that action.
How do you see human-in-the-loop in Blake?
In Blake the drawing values sit with the part as proposals until someone confirms or corrects them, and that decision can be traced by name and time. Correcting an estimate line needs a reason. You enter setups per route yourself, then accept or undo them. More on requests.
Frequently asked questions
Does confirming take longer than filling values in myself?
That depends on how many values are right. Checking with the drawing alongside can be quicker than retyping, provided it is visible which values have been reviewed. You usually did that check already; now it is also recorded who decided what.
When is a human decision step needed?
Wherever an error carries into route, price or quality and does not surface by itself. For material, tolerances and roughness on a drawing that is usually the case; for a layout detail in a document, less so.