Verification and Integration of Safety Systems for Industrial Robot Cells Using Laser-Based Distance Measurement and Augmented Reality

Abstract

The commissioning of robot cells requires an individual safety analysis followed by an appropriate dimensioning of safety components to ensure worker safety. With increasing complexity of robot work cells, developing proper safety concepts becomes more challenging. Therefore, updated validation concepts are needed that support safety engineers and reduce delay due to commissioning. This paper presents a solution to decrease the commissioning time for robot cells due to safety considerations and implementation of measurements. Data from a digital twin (DT) is used to generate test programs that are able to automatically measure relevant safety distances. The virtual robot cell is used to generate robot paths for the real cell. A distance sensor (laser based) measures the distance to relevant objects within the real cell. The programs run automatically, and the safety engineer only defines safety relevant points within the DT. Furter on, augmented reality (AR) is used to visualize safety zones specific to the induvial generated safety concept.