Safety for Next Generation Manufacturing

The Next Generation Robot (NGR) is envisioned as a machine whose design is inherently safe. The robot, coupled with sensors that observe the environment, will enable collaborative human-robot interaction and promote lean manufacturing by reducing handling time and removing safety barriers that slow down transportation and increase cost. Safe robots will require a variety of sensors to ensure that the environment around the robot remains safe even as humans and robots work together. Performance metrics and evaluation methods for these sensors will be required, as well as for the control systems of safe robots. This project addresses these issues in conjunction with the safety-related work conducted in the other projects in the Measurement Science for Intelligent Manufacturing Robotics and Automation Program. The project objectives are to promote inherently safe design and operating features of next generation robots, to develop the metrology technology and sensors that will facilitate the development of the NGR, and to participate in the development of industrial robots safety standards.

The project aims to develop performance metrics and measures for safety systems, including safe robot control systems and sensors that support human-robot collaboration. Work includes supporting formal standards processes, such as those leading to the ISO 10218 robot safety standards and the ITSDF/ASME B56.5 standard for automatic guided vehicles. This includes participating in standards meetings and developing ways of validating safety systems. Additional work is aimed at human-robot collaboration, where sensors must interact with robot control systems to ensure that humans are not endangered when robots are sharing their work area, but robots must still be able to perform at optimal rates. The program’s robot test bed is being used to develop and test performance measures for humans working in conjunction with an industrial robot and an automatic guided vehicle.