Collaborative Robot Motion Control for Human-Aware Productivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collaborative robots face limitations in productivity due to safety standards that require reduced speed and potential stopping when close to human operators, leading to reduced operativity and industrial inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that calculate optimal directions of motion for a collaborative robot's terminal member to maximize productivity while maintaining safety, allowing the robot to choose alternative paths or slow down/stopp when necessary, based on predetermined safety conditions and productivity indices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robot speed is reduced and stopped to ensure human safety according to safety standards, then human safety is improved, but robot productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the robot's motion characteristics adaptable rather than fixed. The control system dynamically adjusts the robot's speed and trajectory in real-time based on the operator's position and movement predictions. When the operator is far from the robot, the robot operates at full speed; when the operator approaches, the system predicts future positions and dynamically modifies the trajectory to maintain safety while minimizing speed reductions, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action through predictive modeling of operator movement. The control system continuously predicts the operator's future position based on current movement trends before the operator actually reaches potentially dangerous zones. This allows the robot to proactively adjust its trajectory and speed in advance, preventing safety violations while maintaining continuous operation, thereby avoiding productivity loss from reactive stopping.
2Productivity
If the robot operates at high speed to maintain productivity, then robot productivity is improved, but safety risks increase when close to human operators
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous feedback loops where the control system monitors the operator's real-time position, compares it with predicted future positions, and continuously adjusts the robot's trajectory and speed. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows the robot to maintain high speeds when safe and automatically reduce speed or change path when safety risks are detected, dynamically balancing productivity and safety without requiring constant human intervention.
3Reliability
If the robot frequently stops to ensure safety, then human safety is improved, but operational continuity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent prevents the need for frequent stops by performing preliminary trajectory adjustments based on predicted operator positions. Before the operator reaches zones where stopping would be necessary, the control system has already modified the robot's path to bypass these zones entirely. This proactive approach maintains operational continuity while ensuring safety, eliminating the need for frequent stop-start cycles that would disrupt workflow.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for controlling the motion of one or more collaborative robots is described, said collaborative robots being mounted on a fixed or movable base, equipped with one or more terminal members, and with a motion controller, characterized in that it comprises the following iterative steps: - determining the position coordinates of the robots, and the position coordinates of one or more human operators collaborating with said robot; - determining a set of productivity indices associated with relative directions of motion of the terminal member of the robot, said productivity indices being indicative of the speed at which the robot can move in each of said directions without having to slow down or stop because of the presence of said operator; - supplying said controller of the robot with the data of said set of productivity indices associated with said relative directions of motion of the terminal member of the robot, so that said controller can determine the directions of motion of the terminal member of the robot based on the higher values of said productivity index.