Directional Speed Limiting for Collaborative Robot Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robot control devices uniformly limit motion speed upon entering a predetermined area, which can lead to inefficient operation and increased risk of contact with operators, as they do not account for specific speed limitations in different directions or areas.
Innovation Solution
A robot control device and method that include a speed calculator, limitation direction specifier, speed limit component calculator, and speed limiter to calculate and enforce speed limits only in specified directions or areas, ensuring that the robot's motion speed does not exceed a prespecified limit, thereby improving operational efficiency and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If uniform speed limiting is applied when the robot enters a predetermined area, then safety is improved, but work efficiency deteriorates due to unnecessary speed reductions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different speed limit settings to different spatial locations within the coordinated operation area. The speed limit is not uniform but varies according to the specific position and direction, allowing the robot to maintain higher speeds in safe zones while reducing speed only in areas requiring operator safety protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The speed limit is dynamically adjusted based on the robot's current position, movement direction, and the relative position of operators. The control device continuously updates the applicable speed limit according to real-time conditions, enabling the robot to optimize its speed within safety constraints rather than adhering to a static uniform limit.
2Reliability
If uniform speed limiting is applied in all directions, then safety is improved, but operational flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Different speed limit values are assigned to different directional movements within the coordinated operation area. The control device determines the robot's movement direction and applies appropriate speed limits specific to each direction, allowing greater flexibility in directions with lower risk while maintaining stricter limits in directions requiring enhanced safety protection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If speed is reduced upon entering coordinated operation area, then collision risk with operators is reduced, but operational efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The speed limit is dynamically determined based on real-time factors including the robot's position, movement direction, the operator's position, and the specific characteristics of the coordinated operation area. This dynamic adjustment allows the robot to maintain optimal speed while minimizing collision risk, rather than applying a fixed reduced speed limit.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device changes the speed parameter based on multiple conditional factors. When the robot is in the coordinated operation area, the system evaluates directional vectors, operator positions, and area characteristics to determine an appropriate speed limit, adjusting the speed parameter adaptively rather than uniformly.
Data Source
AI summary
A control device for a robot, includes a speed calculator that calculates the speed of at least one target point of the robot operating according to an operation program, on the basis of a speed command value written in the operation program; a limitation direction specifier that specifies a direction in which the speed of the at least one target point is limited; a speed limit component calculator that calculates, out of the speed of the at least one target point calculated by the speed calculator, a speed component in the direction specified by the limitation direction specifier; and a speed limiter that limits, only upon motion exceeding a prespecified speed limit, a motion speed of the robot such that the speed component calculated by the speed limit component calculator is equal to or less than the prespecified speed limit.