What are the best strategies for preventing robot collisions in the workplace?

1 Robot kinematics and dynamics

One of the first steps to prevent robot collisions is to understand the robot kinematics and dynamics, which are the mathematical models that describe how the robot moves and reacts to forces. By knowing the robot kinematics and dynamics, you can calculate the robot's position, orientation, velocity, acceleration, and torque at any point in time and space. This can help you design the robot's motion planning, control, and feedback systems, as well as detect and avoid potential collisions with other robots or objects.

2 Robot sensors and communication

Another important strategy to prevent robot collisions is to equip the robots with sensors and communication devices that can monitor the robot's state and environment. Sensors can include cameras, lidars, radars, ultrasonic sensors, force sensors, and encoders, among others. Communication devices can include wireless networks, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and Bluetooth modules, among others. By using sensors and communication, you can enable the robots to sense their surroundings, exchange information, coordinate actions, and alert each other of possible collisions.

3 Robot collision detection and avoidance

A third strategy to prevent robot collisions is to implement robot collision detection and avoidance algorithms, which are the software routines that can identify and prevent collisions before they happen. Collision detection algorithms can use the robot's kinematics and dynamics, as well as the sensor and communication data, to estimate the distance and time to collision with other robots or objects. Collision avoidance algorithms can use the collision detection results to generate safe and feasible trajectories or actions for the robot to avoid the collision. Some examples of collision avoidance algorithms are potential field methods, artificial neural networks, and reinforcement learning.

4 Robot safety standards and regulations

A fourth strategy to prevent robot collisions is to follow the robot safety standards and regulations, which are the guidelines and rules that define the requirements and best practices for robot safety and reliability. Safety standards and regulations can cover aspects such as robot design, testing, installation, operation, maintenance, and training. Some of the most widely used safety standards and regulations are ISO 10218, ANSI/RIA R15.06, and OSHA 1910.212. By complying with the safety standards and regulations, you can ensure that the robots meet the minimum safety criteria and reduce the risk of collisions.

5 Robot human-robot interaction

A fifth strategy to prevent robot collisions is to improve the robot human-robot interaction, which is the way that the robots and the human workers communicate and cooperate in the workplace. Human-robot interaction can involve aspects such as robot interfaces, feedback mechanisms, social cues, trust, and acceptance. By enhancing the human-robot interaction, you can increase the awareness, understanding, and coordination between the robots and the human workers, and prevent misunderstandings, conflicts, or accidents that can lead to collisions.

6 Robot maintenance and inspection

A sixth strategy to prevent robot collisions is to perform regular robot maintenance and inspection, which are the activities that can keep the robots in good working condition and prevent failures or malfunctions. Maintenance and inspection can include tasks such as cleaning, lubricating, calibrating, updating, repairing, and replacing the robot's components and systems. By doing maintenance and inspection, you can prevent the robot's performance from degrading, detect and correct any faults or errors, and avoid unexpected or unwanted behaviors that can cause collisions.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?