Mobile Logistics Robot Protective Field Using Reference Scenario Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current collaborative robot concepts, including mobile logistics robots, face limitations in mixed operation environments due to safety constraints, which restrict their working speed, payload capacity, and design flexibility, leading to limited application areas and high costs, especially in changing logistics settings where spatial separation from humans is necessary.
Innovation Solution
A method where a sensor system records and monitors the work environment, defining a reference scenario to detect changes and automatically put the robot into a safe state if the protective field is violated, allowing for safe operation without fixed protective field separation, enabling increased working speed and payload handling without continuous force and torque monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If spatial separation from humans is implemented using safety fences or virtual safety fences, then safety is improved, but workspace flexibility and mixed operation capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The protective field is dynamically adjusted based on the mobile robot's current position and task requirements. Instead of a fixed safety fence, the virtual protective field moves with the robot, allowing humans and robots to share the workspace flexibly while maintaining safety zones around the robot at all times.
Solution Approach 2:
A sensor system acts as an intermediary between the mobile robot and humans in the shared workspace. The sensor system continuously monitors the environment and defines the protective field, enabling safe mixed operation without physical barriers by mediating between robot movements and human presence.
2Reliability
If collaborative robot concepts with force and torque sensors are used, then safety in mixed operation is improved, but payload capacity and cost deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The safety monitoring function is extracted from the robot itself and implemented as an external sensor system that defines a protective field around the mobile robot. This eliminates the need for expensive force and torque sensors on the robot, allowing it to maintain full payload capacity while still enabling safe mixed operation.
3Reliability
If collaborative robot concepts with force and torque sensors are used, then safety in mixed operation is improved, but working speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Safety monitoring is extracted from the robot's motion control system and implemented as an independent sensor-based protective field system. This allows the robot to operate at full speed without the speed limitations imposed by collaborative robot force/torque monitoring, while safety is maintained through the external protective field definition.
4Reliability
If fixed protective field separation is used, then safety is improved, but device complexity and cost deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The protective field is implemented as a dynamic virtual boundary that moves with the mobile robot rather than a fixed physical or static virtual fence. This dynamic approach uses sensor data to continuously update the protective field position, reducing the need for complex fixed safety infrastructure while maintaining safety.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for securing a work area (B) of a mobile logistics robot (1) in changing work environments (A), wherein the logistics robot (1) is controlled by a control system, and the current work environment (A) is detected by a sensor system (5) and monitored by a safety system. It is proposed that the control system autonomously defines an intended work area (B) in a new work environment (A), and that the safety system defines a reference scenario of the defined work area (B) as a protective field using initially acquired sensor information. Currently acquired sensor information is compared with the reference scenario, and a violation of the protective field is detected if there are changes compared to the reference scenario. In the event of a violation of the protective field, the logistics robot (1) is automatically brought into a safe state.