Anti-Collision Simulation for Human-Robot Production Areas

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for anti-collision management in production plants involving robots and humans are cumbersome, error-prone, and fail to accurately assess the risk of collisions, making it difficult to minimize damage from potential impacts.

Innovation Solution

A data processing system and method for simulating and handling anti-collision management in production plants, which includes simulating the robotic and human operations, determining collision hit indices for human body parts, and generating a collision damage map to predict and visualize potential collision severity, allowing for systematic planning and modification of production processes to avoid collisions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional safety mechanisms are provided to reduce damage from robot-human collisions, then safety is improved, but the complexity of the system increases and the robot's operational flexibility decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by simulating robot and human operations in advance within a virtual environment to identify potential collision risks before actual deployment. The system pre-calculates collision hit indices and generates collision damage maps, allowing safety measures to be planned and optimized beforehand, thereby reducing the need for complex real-time safety mechanisms while maintaining high safety standards.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the robot's and human's movements are timed to avoid all possible hits, then collision risk is reduced, but the system becomes overly complex due to the non-deterministic nature of human behavior

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision risk reductionVSAvoidmovement coordination complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses copying by creating a virtual copy of the physical environment, robot, and human operations. This virtual model allows for repeated simulation and analysis of collision risks without affecting real-world operations. The system copies human movement patterns and robot trajectories in the virtual scene, enabling comprehensive risk assessment while keeping the actual system simple and flexible.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Measurement precision

If comprehensive safety analysis is performed to accurately assess collision risks, then safety assessment accuracy is improved, but the time and computational resources required increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision risk assessment accuracyVSAvoidsimulation and analysis time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies segmentation by dividing the collision risk assessment into distinct components: robot operation analysis, human operation analysis, collision event determination, and damage calculation. Each component is analyzed separately and systematically, allowing for comprehensive accuracy while managing computational complexity through structured breakdown of the overall assessment process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3147735B1A method and a data processing system for simulating and handling of Anti-collision management for an area of a production plant
Publication Date: 2020.06.17 SIEMENS INDUSTRY SOFTWARE INC
  • EP3147735B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3147735B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3147735B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

Methods and data processing systems for a siumulation and handling of anti-collision management for an area of a production plant performed by a data processing system are disclosed. At least one robot performing robotic operations and at least one human performing human operations are at least partially simultaneously in the same area and collision events are identified and remedied.