Dynamic robot operator cooperation

Industrial robots pose a hazard to operators who enter the robot's work zone. In the case of a stationary robot, safety can be guaranteed with area monitoring, which slows down or stops the robot upon detection of the operator. Collaborative robots, called cobots, that detect collisions through force sensors can also be used. However, these cobots have a limited payload and speed and often need to be equipped with additional safety measures after a risk analysis. In this project, we are looking for a cooperation of an operator and an industrial robot moving along a rail. On the one hand the control of robot and rail movement will be integrated. In contemporary applications the control of robot and rail are separated, each with its own interface. This results in a more complex and cumbersome control and use by the operator. On the other hand, safe and dynamic area monitoring is sought. Integration of safety (zones) in the robot controller is currently situated at a higher level and cannot be adjusted on the fly. Good communication between robot, rail and sensors is essential for determining useful safety zones. First steps in the development of such a safety system are the determination of the safe braking distances of different robot-rail configurations and the study of the performance of commercially available (2D and 3D) measurement sensors. This will result in an algorithm that limits the working area of the robot to a dynamic working zone that changes as a function of the changing environment detected by the sensors. Finally, this algorithm will be extended to include information from moving external 'machines' such as AGVs.