Programming for Greater Levels of Robotic Safety

Changes in robot safety can be illustrated by the simple example of a doorstop in your home or office. Push the stop down and the door won't move. Period. That's how it has been with robots. Physical barriers kept them separate from people and shutting down the power was one way to stop them cold.

But what if doors could be programmed to stop or slow down so that a hard stop would be unnecessary while increasing the safety level? That's the trend occurring in robotic manufacturing.

Read about developments with software-defined limits and what the technology means for the use of collaborative robots. The two topics are such a good fit that robotic safety and collaborative robots are the focus of back-to-back conferences in Pittsburgh this October 12 to October 15 at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

When Slowing Down is a Good Sign

You probably have a post or some other obstruction on the factory floor. Robots used in industrial automation are typically stationary. Cages or other barriers surrounded them so a post wasn't a problem to avoid.

Stopping the traditional industrial robot has required blocking or limiting the base, the shoulder, and the elbow, axes one, two, and three. Today's collaborative robots are being built with more flexible functionality and the expectation of moving from one part of a plant to another. Stopping or slowing down to change direction and move around a post or a person has become necessary.

Software is making it possible to stop and limit every axes so a robot can maneuver around an obstruction. A robots' motion can be closely monitored and limited. Fewer barriers also creates more usable space on a factory floor.

The technology and how it relates to ANSI/RIA standards is covered in the article, The Shrinking Footprint of Robot Safety. One of the highlights mentioned is there are endless configurations to stop a robot. It can stop quickly or gradually as a person moves into its field of operation.

Tracking and Analyzing

Software that can simulate an entire machining operation was introduced to the international market in early 2015 during the European Robotics Forum in Italy. The presentation on COMET tracked a robot's behavior and movements and alerted the operator to issues that could prevent successful completion of a task.

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The software was a 30-month project funded in part by the European Commission and its Factories of the Future program. The goal was to fund robot-based machining systems that would have greater reliability and flexibility and be more cost effective than machine tools.

A coordinating partner for the project was industrial software maker Delcam. Read Delcam to Present on Robot Machining at European Robotics Forum to learn about a key outcome of the project and how the new software makes it as easy to program a robot for machining as it is to program a five-axis machine tool.

The user is alerted to notifications of the robot potentially reaching axis limits, singularities and collisions.  Graphs display the axis limits, wrist singularity and axis reversals to give a better understanding of how the robot will move. 

Safety and Collaborative Robot Conference

Software is bringing a greater degree of safety to operating robots. The issue goes hand-in-hand with the use of collaborative robots. There are two conferences occurring on consecutive days this October in Pittsburgh. The National Robot Safety Conference will take place October 12 to 14 followed by the International Collaborative Robots Workshop on October 15. Both conferences will take place at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

Workshops covered at the safety conference include a look at Safety Implications of Open Source Robotics and Programming, Collaborative Risk Assessment Guidance, and perspectives from OSHA and the insurance industry.

The International Collaborative Workshop on October 15 is going to be a fast-paced event with a global view on the technology and its impact on people. Speakers will come from robotics research labs and private industry. The roster includes Dr. Henrik Christensen of Georgia Tech, Pat Davison of Robotic Industries Association, and Jim Lawton of Rethink Robots.

To link to workshop listings and complete registration details click here for the Events page on A3 Automate.org. Come back to browse videos in the "Why I Automate" series and read additional blog posts that chart the future of industrial technology and how automation can improve your productivity and profitability.