Opportunities and Challenges for the Design of Inherently Safe Robots

Raatz, Annika; Blankemeyer, Sebastian; Runge, Gundula; Bruns, Christopher; Borchert, Gunnar

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-44506-8_15

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Other control methods limited forces (26) or impact energy of the end effector (27); the performance of the robot was then limited to the low speeds that such methods require. Another approach to reducing the impact energy was to build soft robots (28). These robots can be made either from rigid links with inherent compliance in the joints or actuators (29) or from deformable materials (30)(31)(32).…”

Section: Ensuring Human Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Effortless creation of safe robots from modules through self-programming and self-verification

et al. 2019

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Industrial robots cannot be reconfigured to optimally fulfill a given task and often have to be caged to guarantee human safety. Consequently, production processes are meticulously planned so that they last for long periods to make automation affordable. However, the ongoing trend toward mass customization and small-scale manufacturing requires purchasing new robots on a regular basis to cope with frequently changing production. Modular robots are a natural answer: Robots composed of standardized modules can be easily reassembled for new tasks, can be quickly repaired by exchanging broken modules, and are cost-effective by mass-producing standard modules usable for a large variety of robot types. Despite these advantages, modular robots have not yet left research laboratories because an expert must reprogram each new robot after assembly, rendering reassembly impractical. This work presents our set of interconnectable modules (IMPROV), which programs and verifies the safety of assembled robots themselves. Experiments show that IMPROV robots retained the same control performance as nonmodular robots, despite their reconfigurability. With respect to human-robot coexistence, our user study shows a reduction of robot idle time by 36% without compromising on safety using our self-verification concept compared with current safety standards. We believe that by using self-programming and self-verification, modular robots can transform current automation practices.

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Section: Ensuring Human Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Effortless creation of safe robots from modules through self-programming and self-verification

et al. 2019

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“…However, the preparation of soft robots still faces challenges and opportunities and a real technological breakthrough is still imminent. [49][50][51][52] The research and development of soft robots first need to consider their functions and application scenarios, and then realize their fabrication by designing structures and selecting appropriate materials. To improve the preparation efficiency, it is necessary to combine some appropriate preparation methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the preparation of soft robots still faces challenges and opportunities and a real technological breakthrough is still imminent. 49–52…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in biomimetic soft robotics: fabrication approaches, driven strategies and applications

et al. 2022

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“…In the field of human-centered robotics it is especially important to consider inherent safety aspects, which can be realized e.g. by control [1], by links with variable stiffness [2], by soft components with variable stiffness [3] or by variable stiffness actuation [4]. During the task, the robot comes into contact with objects or workpieces and realizes their gripping and manipulation by using end-effectors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Simple, Adaptive, and Versatile Soft-Robotic Compliant Two-Finger Gripper With an Inherently Gentle Touch

Milojević

Linß

Ćojbašić

et al. 2020

Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics

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In soft robotics there is still a great need for a universal but simple gripper that realizes a high level of adaptability as well as a gentle touch to a wide variety of unknown objects of different size, shape, stiffness and weight without the use of sensors or vision. Various, mostly complex grippers already exist based on certain actuation concepts. However, each solution has specific limitations, especially regarding gripping different soft and delicate objects. Therefore, this paper introduces a new approach to design a simple, adaptive and versatile soft robotic two-finger gripper that is based on compliant mechanisms. More specifically, an inherently gentle touch is realized by utilizing an optimally synthesized mechanism with distributed compliance in combination with a conventional linear actuator. It is shown by FEM simulations that the gripper realizes a high force and motion transmission at the same time. Furthermore, it is demonstrated by tests with a gripper prototype that reliable, safe, and fast grasping as well as manipulation are possible for a wide variety of objects. It is shown that beside regular and stiff objects also very challenging objects can be easily gripped, e.g. small, irregular, soft, and squeezable objects like fruits, berries and vegetables. Moreover, it is confirmed that the developed compliant two-finger gripper can be used beneficially without sensors and control for differently sized and shaped objects with a comparable weight.

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Opportunities and Challenges for the Design of Inherently Safe Robots

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Effortless creation of safe robots from modules through self-programming and self-verification

Effortless creation of safe robots from modules through self-programming and self-verification

Recent advances in biomimetic soft robotics: fabrication approaches, driven strategies and applications

A Novel Simple, Adaptive, and Versatile Soft-Robotic Compliant Two-Finger Gripper With an Inherently Gentle Touch

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