AR Robot Safety Cell Overlay for In-Context Clearance Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for displaying and verifying the safety configuration of industrial robots are time-consuming and lack direct context, as they require transferring relevant values into a virtual model that may not accurately represent the physical robot cell, leading to uncertainty in safety planning evaluation.
Innovation Solution
A method using an augmented reality human machine interface (AR-HMI) with a display and video camera to overlay virtual safety cell areas onto the real robot environment, allowing users to align virtual and real images and confirm positional accuracy, thereby displaying exact safety cell areas and allowing assessment of clearances and safety zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If safety configuration is displayed using traditional graphical interfaces or simulation software, then the safety planning can be visualized, but the evaluation process becomes time-consuming and lacks direct context with the real robot cell
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the robot and its safety configuration that can be overlaid onto the real robot cell environment. This virtual model preserves all safety-relevant spatial information while enabling direct comparison with the physical setup, eliminating the need to transfer values between separate virtual models and the physical reality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that combines virtual safety configuration data with the real robot cell environment through overlay technology. This intermediary layer allows simultaneous visualization of both virtual safety zones and physical elements in a single view, enabling direct contextual evaluation without time-consuming data transfers.
2Measurement precision
If virtual installation models are used to represent the robot cell, then the entire robot cell can be visualized, but the model may not exactly correspond to the physical robot cell, creating residual fuzziness and uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the robot that is overlaid onto the real robot, allowing direct visual comparison. The virtual model is not a separate simulation but a transparent overlay that maintains precise spatial correspondence with the physical robot, enabling operators to verify safety zone positioning accuracy directly against the actual hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the safety configuration into distinct virtual safety zones that can be independently visualized and verified. By dividing the safety configuration into separate geometric regions (safe cell space, safe tool space, etc.), the system allows precise verification of each zone's positioning relative to the physical robot and environment.
3Ease of operation
If safety configuration is displayed on an operating handset or computer, then the safety planning can be reviewed, but no direct context with the real robot cell is provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional displays on handsets or computers to three-dimensional spatial overlay in the actual robot cell environment. The virtual safety zones are projected into the physical space where the robot operates, providing full spatial context and depth information that flat displays cannot convey, while maintaining ease of operation through direct visual inspection.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for checking a safety area of a robot with an augmented reality human machine interface (AR-HMI) that comprises a display and a video camera. The method includes: acquiring, at the AR-HMI, a robot type of the robot, displaying, in the display of the AR-HMI, a virtual robot image of at least part of a robot of the robot type in a manner such that the virtual robot image overlays an actual robot image of the robot of the robot type in the video camera of the AR-HMI, aligning a position of the virtual robot image with a position of the actual robot image by moving the AR-HMI in three-dimensional space, confirming the alignment of the position between the virtual robot image and the actual robot image, and displaying a virtual first safety cell area around the virtual robot image in the confirmed position as an overlay of the actual robot image in the display of the AR-HMI.