Safe and Efficient Human-Robot Collaboration Part I: Estimation of Human Arm Motions

A significant barrier regarding a successful implementation of fenceless robot cells into manufacturing areas with humans is given by the inefficiency due to safety requirements. Robot motions have to be slowed down so that an unexpected collision with a human does not result in human injuries. This velocity reduction leads to longer cycle times and, hence, fenceless robot cells turn out as uneconomic. In this paper, a new approach for human-robot collaboration in assembly tasks is presented. For a better performance of the robot, methods are investigated on how the robot can exploit a maximum performance while maintaining the safety of collaborating humans. For this purpose, the kinematics and dynamics of a human arm are described by a control-oriented dynamic model to determine its capability and reachability. Successful experiments validate the dynamic model as well as a corresponding projection approach for calculating possible movements of the human arm that may lead to a collision with the robot. Finally, this information is used to calculate an admissible path velocity that minimizes the danger of human injuries.