LiDAR-Based Maintenance of a Safe Distance between a Human and a Robot Arm

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Industrial Safety
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Human-robot collaboration is increasing, especially with heavy-duty robots.
• Ensuring safe distances in collaborative workspaces is critical.
• Current safety systems often underutilize advanced sensor capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the effectiveness of 3D LiDAR scanners for safe distance maintenance in human-robot collaboration.
• To present an intelligent control system (ICS) for real-time safety monitoring.
• To highlight the underutilization and potential of 3D sensors in this domain.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a proprietary 3D LiDAR scanner prototype to acquire robot and human positions.
• Developed an ICS to periodically track positions, predict future movements, and adjust robot speed.
• Implemented a novel method of loading robot programs into the ICS for precomputed trajectory analysis.

Main Results:

• Achieved a respectable level of safety, confirming the viability of 3D LiDAR for this application.
• The ICS successfully adjusted robot speed to maintain a protective separation distance.
• Precomputing robot trajectories based on loaded programs yielded higher accuracy and safety than traditional prediction methods.

Conclusions:

• 3D LiDAR scanners are a valuable, underutilized tool for enhancing safety in human-robot collaborative applications.
• The presented ICS, with its predictive capabilities and program-based precomputation, offers a significant advancement in safety.
• The system's innovative use and placement of the 3D LiDAR scanner provide advantageous speed and separation monitoring.