Be it assistance robots and their use, the efficient planning of collaboration, the intuitive programming of robots or the determination and monitoring of the human workspace - the researchers at the Fraunhofer IFF have developed solutions for this in numerous scientific projects:

SafeyPilot - automating the safeguarding of cobots

In the production of the future, humans will work even more closely with collaborative robots (cobots) than before. In this human-robot collaboration (HRC), safety is the top priority. The power and force limitation operating mode (in accordance with ISO/TS 15066) has the particular advantage that it enables the automation of manual tasks directly alongside humans - without any fences. Until now, costly collision measurements on the robot have been necessary to check whether a cobot complies with the biomechanical limit values from ISO/TS 15066 in the event of a collision with humans. With the SafeyPilot, the Fraunhofer IFF is presenting an innovative alternative to measurement that uses simulations to fully automate the testing process. This makes safeguarding a cobot child's play and, above all, cheaper. The SafeyPilot can also be used in a simulation environment to carry out an early profitability analysis. This prevents planning errors and saves costs and effort during engineering.

Safely monitor workspaces

Flexible and dynamic work and production environments require the elimination of a strict separation between humans and robots. Coexistence and cooperation without safety fences allows the strengths of humans and robots to be combined. At the same time, human safety must be guaranteed at all times.

The Fraunhofer IFF researches and develops technologies for the early detection of dangerous situations (e.g. collisions) between humans and robots. This involves monitoring compliance with a separating distance in accordance with the speed and distance monitoring operating mode (in accordance with ISO/TS 15066). The advantage of this type of collaboration is that, in addition to small and medium-sized robots, large robots in particular can also be used alongside humans.

Based on projector and camera technology, the Fraunhofer IFF has developed a monitoring solution in the field of human-robot collaboration and patented it as an innovative safety system. The safety areas to be monitored are projected directly into the environment, e.g. onto the floor or workbench. Violations of these safety areas caused by an interruption of the projection beams are detected reliably and in real time by the surrounding cameras.

The dynamic adjustment of the safety zones depending on the current robot configuration (including joint positions and speeds) enables the permanent use of a maximum working area for humans. The system also allows safety, process and robot-specific information to be displayed.