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Research on safety design and optimization of collaborative robots

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Abstract

Aiming at maximizing working performance of collaborative robots (cobots) under the constraint of safe physical human–robot interaction (pHRI), a safety design and optimization method for cobots is proposed to fullfill working performance requirements with sufficiently eliminating hazards and reducing risks of cobots. This safety design and optimization method can optimize and synthesize the correlated performance indices such as effective mass, terminal velocity and terminal stiffness property of cobots by drawing the human–robot interaction(HRI) safety diagram based on the human biomechanical limits (HBL), so as to simultaneously optimize working performance and sufficiently reduce risks of cobots. Through the correlation analysis of the safety requirement and the working performance, the coupling matrix diagram is constructed to obtain the correlated performance indices of cobots. And the mathematical model of correlated performance indices and HRI safety evaluation indices (SEIs) is derived by establishing the safety design analysis model of cobots. Then the HRI safety diagram is drawn with the restriction of HBL, and the reasonable correlated performance indices of cobots are selected to optimize working performance and sufficiently reduce risks of it simultaneously. According to the proposed method, the safety design and optimization of a seven degrees of freedom (DOFs) cobot is carried out, and the correlated performance indices that optimize working performance and sufficiently reduce risks of the cobot at the same time are determined.

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Data availability

All the source code is attached as a supplementary material of the paper.

Abbreviations

3C:

Computer, communication, consumer electronics

Cobot:

Collaborative robot

DOF:

Degrees of freedom

DLR:

German aerospace center

HR:

Human–robot interaction

HBL:

Human biomechanical limit

MIT:

Massachusetts institute of technology

NIR:

New index for robots

pHRI:

Physical human–robot interaction

RGF:

Effective force/torque that the gravity of robots can generate

RIF:

Impact force/torque that robots can exert

RIP:

Impact contact pressure that robots can exert

RIVF:

Impact clamp force that robots can exert

RSF:

Static contact force/torque that robots can exert

RSP:

Static contact pressure that robots can exert

RSVF:

Static clamp force that robots can exert

SEA:

Series elastic actuator

SEI:

Safety evaluation index

VSA:

Variable stiffness actuator

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Introduction Plan of Jiangsu Province [Grant No. JSSCBS20211456], the High-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Introduction Plan of Lianyungang City [Grant No.[2022]15], the Key Research and Development Plan of Lianyungang City [Grant No.CG2206], the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [SBK2023022881], the Special Research Project for Basic Capabilities Improvement of Shipbuilding Industry(CN) [Grant No.QT1451-0310031].

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  1. Jiangsu Automation Research Institute, Lianyungang, 222061, China

    Mingwei Hu

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The author contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were also performed by MH.

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Correspondence to Mingwei Hu.

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Hu, M. Research on safety design and optimization of collaborative robots. Int J Intell Robot Appl 7, 795–809 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41315-023-00299-7

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