Collaborative Workbench Robot Path Projection for Collision Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current workbenches with collaborative robots lack effective methods to ensure safe and efficient human-robot collaboration, particularly in determining movement paths and indicating safe working spaces, which can lead to collisions and reduced productivity.
Innovation Solution
A workbench system incorporating a multi-axis robot, a visible light projector, a camera, and a controller that projects visible light indications to define safe working spaces and movement paths, allowing the robot to move within a limited volume while ensuring user safety and awareness of the robot's path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the robot operates in a shared workspace with humans, then collaboration efficiency is improved, but safety risks increase due to potential collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces visible light projections as an intermediary communication medium between the robot and human operator. The projector casts visual indicators (boundaries, paths, status signals) onto the workspace surface, serving as a mediator that conveys robot intent and status without requiring direct physical or verbal communication, thereby maintaining safety while enabling collaboration
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical safety mechanisms (such as physical barriers or force-based collision detection) with optical information systems. Instead of relying on mechanical interlocks or force sensors to prevent collisions, the system uses visual projections to inform humans of robot movement paths and safe zones, substituting mechanical safety with informational safety
2Reliability
If visible light projections are used to indicate working spaces and paths, then safety and awareness are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the visible light projector serve multiple functions: indicating workspace boundaries, showing robot movement paths, displaying status information, and providing spatial orientation cues. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate indication systems for each purpose, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes variations in light parameters (color, intensity, pattern, position) to encode different types of information. By changing optical parameters rather than adding separate physical indicators for each information type, the system achieves high information density with a single projector device, managing complexity effectively
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the robot moves within a limited volume to ensure safety, then collision prevention is improved, but operational flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of the limited volume boundaries through visible light projections. The indicated workspace is not fixed but can be modified in real-time based on human position, task requirements, and robot state. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the robot to adapt its operational envelope, maintaining safety while preserving flexibility for different tasks
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances safety by preventing collisions between humans and robots, improves productivity by reducing the likelihood of injury and damage, and enables efficient task execution through clear indication of working spaces and paths.
Implementation Method 1
a visible light projector... control the visible light projector to project a visible light indication onto at least one of a surface of the workbench and a surface of the workspace
Implementation Method 2
a camera... control the camera to capture images of multiple different views of the object held by the end effector
Data Source
AI summary
A workbench system comprising: a workbench; a multi-axis robot; a visible light projector; and a controller; wherein the workbench and the robot are located in a common workspace; the controller is configured to: determine a movement operation for the robot; and, using the determined movement operation, control the visible light projector to project a visible light indication onto at least one of a surface of the workbench and a surface of the workspace; the visible light indication indicates a limited area of the workbench and/or workspace, the limited area corresponding to a limited volume of space; and the movement operation is such that, if the robot performs the movement operation, the robot moves entirely within only the limited volume of space.