Prof. Yuval Cohen

Prof. Yuval Cohen

Associate Professor, Industrial Engineering Institution: Afeka – Tel-Aviv Academic College of Engineering Editorial Role: Associate Editor, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing

CV

Extendd Biography

Professor Yuval Cohen (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at Afeka – Tel-Aviv Academic College of Engineering. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, a leading international journal in the field.
His research focuses on intelligent manufacturing systems, Industry 4.0, operations management, and human–robot collaboration.
Within this scope, he specializes in design, planning, and control of smart, data-driven assembly and production systems.
A major line of his work addresses collaborative robots (cobots) and human–cobot interaction on the shop floor.

He leads funded research on human–cobot interaction, including projects on vocal communication between cobots and operators to improve safety and productivity.
His recent publications also explore the integration of computer vision and AI into collaborative robotic systems.
Through this work he aims to create cobot workstations that are safe, intuitive, and comfortable for human workers.

Professor Cohen plays a prominent leadership role in IFAC, the International Federation of Automatic Control.
Since 2019 he has served as Vice-Chair of IFAC Technical Committee 5.1 on Plant Control and Industrial Logistics.
He chaired and edited the 14th IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS 2022).
He later joined the advisory board and acted as proceedings editor for the 15th IFAC IMS Workshop.
He has organized and chaired IFAC sessions and tracks on Assembly 4.0, smart digitized shopfloors, and human–cobot collaboration at events such as INCOM, MIM, and the IFAC World Congress.
These activities position him as a key contributor to IFAC’s agenda in intelligent manufacturing and digitalized industrial logistics.
Professor Cohen has published more than seventy papers and several scientific books in industrial engineering and operations research.
His work bridges combinatorial optimization, operations research, and industrial informatics with practical applications in smart factories.

Before joining Afeka, he founded and headed the Industrial Engineering program at the Open University of Israel.
He previously worked as Senior Operations Planner at FedEx Ground in the United States, leading long-term planning for a nationwide network of hubs and terminals.
He holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Ben-Gurion University, an MSc from the Technion, and a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
He is an active member of the international professional community (a member of IFAC, IISE and INFORMS scientific organizations) and frequently collaborates with industry and academic partners on advanced manufacturing and cobot-related projects.

Recent Selected Publications

Intelligent Manufacturing & Cobots

  1. Cohen, Y., Biton, A., & Shoval, S. (2025). Fusion of Computer Vision and AI in Collaborative Robotics: A Review and Future Prospects. Applied Sciences, 15(14), 7905.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/app15147905,
  2. Cohen, Y., Faccio, M., & Rozenes, S. (2025). Vocal Communication Between Cobots and Humans to Enhance Productivity and Safety: Review and Discussion, Applied Sciences, 15, 726. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/app15020726
  3. Naor,M. Pinto, G. Davidov, P. Cohen, Y. Izchaki, L., Hadieh, M., Ghaith M. (2024) Vertically-Take-off-and-Landing for Distribution of Parcel to Hospitals: A Case Study about Drones Utilization in Israel Healthcare Arena, Sustainability, In Press
  4. Cohen, Y., & Rozenes, S. (2023). New Framework for Complex Assembly Digitalization and Traceability Using Bill of Assembly and Smart Contracts. Applied Sciences, 13(3), 1884.‏
  5. Faccio, M., Cohen, Y., (2023) Editorial: Intelligent Cobot Systems: Human-Cobot Collaboration in Manufacturing, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, JIMS-D-23-00591R1, Q1: H-85, Impact 7
  6. Cohen, Y. Amorim, M. Reis, J. (2022) Editorial: Smart Services: Artificial Intelligence in Service Systems, Applied Sciences, Issue 16: Volume 12.
  7. Rozenes, S. Cohen Y., (2022) Artificial Intelligence Synergetic Opportunities in Services: Conversational Systems Perspective, Applied Sciences, 12,16, 1-18, 8363. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/16/8363/pdf

Books & Other Selected Works” 

  1. Shtub A., Cohen Y., (2016) Introduction to Industrial Engineering, Second Edition, CRC Press, (in English, ISBN 9781498706018). 436 Pages. BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD by the Institute for Industrial and systems Engineering (IISE).
  2. Rozenes S., Cohen Y., (editors), (2017) Handbook of Research on Strategic Alliances and Value Co-Creation in the Service Industry, Harrisburg: PA, IGI Global. (in English, ISBN-13: 978-1522520849). https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/book/171696
  3. Ben-Gal, H., & Cohen, Y. (2025). Exploring the Skills Revolution: Strategic Upskilling and Reskilling Human Operators for Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystems, 15th IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS-2025), Koszalin, Poland.
  4. Cohen, Y. (2025). Generative Assembly Line Design: Optimizing Task assignment, Equipment Selection and Balancing , 15th IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS-2025), Koszalin, Poland.
  5. Cohen Y. & DeLorme X. (2025) A New Digital Twins Technique for Minimizing Setup Times in Reconfigurable Stations of a Mixed Model Flow Lines, 11th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and Control – IFAC (MIM2025), Trondheim, Norway.
  6. Cohen, Y., & Aperstein, Y. (2024). Generative Shopfloor Layout Design: Challenges and Proposed Modelling Approach. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 58(19), 748-753.‏

Awards and Honors

Section title: Awards and Honors

  • 2015 -2025 Annual Research and teaching excellence awards (Afeka)
  • 2003-2014, Annual Research and teaching excellence awards (Open University)
  • 2016: Book of the year awards from IISE for Introduction to Industrial Engineering textbook (CRC).
  • 2000; FedEx Ground Recognition Award for Outstanding Planning Effort, Pittsburgh, USA.