Collaborative Robot Assembly With Contact Detection and On-Site Tuning
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Solution Overview
Problem
General industrial robots are not designed for collaboration with operators and lack safety features, making them unsafe for task execution and difficult to adjust on-site.
Innovation Solution
A collaborative robot system with a driving unit, operation unit, control unit, safety securing unit, and interface that allows operators to assemble and fine-tune the system, featuring a magnet coupling and contact detection unit for safety and a camera for work instruction marker detection, enabling safe and adjustable task execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If general industrial robots are used for task execution, then productivity is improved, but safety is worsened because they lack safety apparatuses and are not designed to collaborate with operators
Solution Approach 1:
The robot system is divided into modular components including a driving unit, operation unit, safety securing unit, and control unit. This segmentation allows the safety functions to be independently integrated without compromising the robot's productivity capabilities, resolving the contradiction between efficiency and safety by enabling both to coexist in a modular architecture
Solution Approach 2:
A safety securing unit acts as an intermediary between the robot's operation unit and the operator. This intermediary includes sensors that detect operator proximity and contact, and control mechanisms that restrict or stop robot movement when safety threats are detected, thereby enabling productive collaboration while maintaining safety
2Loss of time
If general industrial robots are brought in as finished products, then installation time is reduced, but adaptability is worsened because operators cannot finely adjust the robots at the site
Solution Approach 1:
The robot is provided as a finished product in modular segments (driving unit, operation unit, safety securing unit, control unit) that can be easily assembled and disassembled. This segmentation enables rapid installation while maintaining on-site adaptability, as the modular structure allows for fine adjustments and reconfigurations without requiring complete disassembly or specialized expertise
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit is designed with universal interfaces and programmable functionality that allow operators to adjust and reconfigure the robot for different tasks at the installation site. The control unit can receive various input signals and execute different operation programs, providing both ease of installation and long-term adaptability
Data Source
AI summary
A collaborative robot system having high safety when executing tasks in collaboration with operators and which can be finely adjusted at a site is achieved. A collaborative robot system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is assembled by an operator for executing a task in collaboration with the operator. The collaborative robot system includes a driving unit, an operation unit configured to operate by a driving force of the driving unit to execute the task, a control unit configured to control the driving unit, a program executed by the control unit, a safety securing unit including a cover covering the operation unit or a sensor configured to detect contact of the operator with the operation unit, and an interface, an input apparatus of the operator being connected to the interface in order to modify the program.