VERIKNOW-AI – Verifiable Human–AI Knowledge Continuity for the Factory Workforce of the Future

VERIKNOW-AI – Verifiable Human–AI Knowledge Continuity for the Factory Workforce of the Future

Call: Horizon Europe – Cluster 4: Digital, Industry & Space
Topic: HORIZON-CL4-2027-02-DIGITAL-EMERGING-52-two-stage

European manufacturing is facing a growing knowledge-continuity challenge. Critical operational know-how often remains tacit, dispersed among experienced workers and difficult to transfer when employees retire, change roles or when companies introduce new technologies. At the same time, industrial AI systems increasingly support workers without providing sufficient transparency regarding where operational knowledge originates, whether it remains valid, who approved it and how it has changed over time.

VERIKNOW-AI proposes a new generation of trusted Human–AI collaboration for advanced manufacturing, combining Artificial Intelligence, IoT, cybersecurity and verifiable digital trust mechanisms.

The project will develop a Human–AI Industrial Knowledge Continuity Framework able to capture expert knowledge directly from the shop floor through natural interaction, operational data and connected industrial environments. AI will structure and contextualise this knowledge and transform it into interactive guidance, mentoring and decision support for workers.

Unlike conventional industrial AI assistants, VERIKNOW-AI will introduce a verifiable knowledge provenance layer. Each critical piece of captured industrial knowledge will retain information on its source, validation status, version, operational context and authorised modifications. A permissioned blockchain-based trust layer will provide tamper-resistant records and auditable knowledge evolution while keeping sensitive industrial data within controlled environments.

The project will address three complementary dimensions of Human–AI collaboration:

1. Human–AI Co-Learning and Knowledge Capture
Experienced workers will be able to transfer tacit know-how through natural interaction with AI. The system will formalise operational knowledge while maintaining human validation and expert oversight.

2. Human–AI Teamwork
Workers will interact with AI through intuitive, context-aware interfaces providing real-time guidance, recommendations and explanations during complex shop-floor tasks.

3. Adaptive and Inclusive Interaction
AI interfaces will adapt to worker experience, abilities, language and cultural context, supporting onboarding, continuous learning, accessibility and workforce inclusion.

IoT and operational data will provide real-time context so that AI guidance reflects the actual state of machinery, processes and working conditions. Cybersecurity and privacy-by-design principles will protect industrial knowledge, worker information and sensitive production data.

The project will be demonstrated in multiple advanced manufacturing environments, focusing on use cases such as maintenance, production changeovers, complex assembly, anomaly response and onboarding of new workers.

Expected impacts include reduced loss of industrial know-how, faster onboarding, improved workforce upskilling, increased operational resilience, safer Human–AI collaboration and stronger trust in industrial AI.

VERIKNOW-AI is directly aligned with HORIZON-CL4-2027-02-DIGITAL-EMERGING-52-two-stage – New approaches for Human/AI collaboration for the workforce of the future, addressing Human–AI co-learning, natural interaction and adaptive interfaces in advanced manufacturing.