Through his CIFRE PhD at ICube with Englab and T&S, Jülian Salazar explores cognitive ergonomics and inattentional blindness to design adaptive, human-centered intelligent systems driving Industry 5.0.
In a context where the Industry of the Future increasingly relies on intelligent interaction between humans and machines, understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms has become essential to align technological capabilities with human abilities.
It is within this perspective that Jülian Salazar, a PhD student in cognitive sciences applied to cognitive ergonomics at the ICube Laboratory, conducts his research in collaboration with Englab, as part of a CIFRE PhD program supported by T&S.
His goal: to design human-centered intelligent assistance systems capable of adapting to operators’ sensory and cognitive limitations, and improving their performance in complex environments such as industrial manual assembly.
At the core of Jülian’s research lies a well-known cognitive bias in psychology: inattentional blindness.
This refers to the tendency to miss a visible piece of information when it appears unexpectedly, especially when attention is already focused elsewhere.
Studying this phenomenon in an industrial assembly context helps identify operators’ attentional limits, which is crucial for designing smarter, better-calibrated assistance technologies.
Jülian explains:
« My first study showed that both cognitive load and perceptual load influence the occurrence of inattentional blindness during manual assembly. This means that even visible information can go unnoticed if it appears suddenly, without any explicit action from the operator. »
This finding has major implications for contextual interfaces in the Industry of the Future: even relevant and visible information may be missed if it appears during high attentional demand.
The challenge, therefore, is to design assistance solutions that regulate cognitive and perceptual load, ensuring that operators can access the most relevant information at the right time.
The result? Better decision-making, improved performance, and smoother human–machine integration.
The ultimate goal of Jülian’s PhD is to enable personalized assistance systems that dynamically adapt to each operator’s attentional profile.
To achieve this, he designed an initial experimental protocol to observe how inattentional blindness manifests during assembly tasks.
A second study will explore differences between individuals with and without specific attentional characteristics.
Finally, a third protocol will help define how Digital Assist, Englab’s smart assistance solution, can be adjusted based on these findings.
« My goal is to integrate these results into the Digital Assist solution developed by Englab, so that it can adapt to different attentional profiles including those of people with conditions such as ADHD or autism. »
This inclusive approach perfectly reflects the human-centered philosophy of his research: designing safer, more efficient, and more accessible work environments for all cognitive profiles.
Beyond research outcomes, Jülian’s CIFRE PhD has been a true school of rigor, autonomy, and project management.
He led the work from start to finish: immersing himself in an industrial environment, defining research questions, designing experimental protocols, managing participants, analyzing data, and communicating results to the company.
« This PhD has taught me real management and responsibility skills. I learned to work independently while maintaining scientific quality. The CIFRE format also pushed me to develop clear and structured communication, essential for making my research accessible to the company. »
This dual scientific and industrial focus perfectly illustrates the added value of projects supported by T&S and Englab: combining cutting-edge academic research with concrete industrial applications that serve both operators and organizations.
Jülian’s first results have already caught the attention of the international scientific community.
His initial study has been accepted for presentation at a conference in Hawaii, where he will share his findings on cognitive load and perception.
And the journey continues:
« I aim to present my work at the CHI 2026 conference in Barcelona, one of the leading events in Human-Computer Interaction. Integrating my results into Digital Assist will also open the door to more industry-oriented publications. »
This growing recognition demonstrates the real-world impact of his research on the design of the Industry 5.0 an era where humans remain at the center of technological innovation.
Jülian’s work perfectly embodies the mission that T&S and Englab pursue at the core of their projects: using science and technology to serve people.
Thanks to initiatives like his, the industry of the future is being built on more resilient systems, more intuitive technologies, more inclusive environments, and better-supported operators.
At T&S, we are proud to support these young researchers whose vision and passion help shape the innovations of tomorrow.
Through his CIFRE PhD at ICube with Englab and T&S, Jülian Salazar explores cognitive ergonomics and inattentional blindness to design adaptive, human-centered intelligent systems driving Industry 5.0.
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