Safety In Mobile Robotic Manipulators

Research and implement methodologies and features that allow mobile robotic manipulators to safely operate in spaces with human presence.

Project Responsible Within the Company

• Name: Ivan Villaverde
• Title: PhD Robotics
• Contact: ivan.villaverde@tecnalia.com

Project Description and objectives

INTRODUCTION:

One of the main current trends in manufacturing robotics is the shift from static robotic manipulators to mobile robotic manipulators, which are a key element in the concept of flexible robotic systems. The mobile manipulators introduce greater flexibility in manufacturing plants, allowing for quick and easy reconfiguration of the production line, efficient manufacturing scheduling and/or on-line replacement of other robots or human operators.

The new capacity of the robots of not being confined in a delimited and closed space introduces also new and critical requirements regarding safety, as these robots in many cases will not only share the same space than human workers, but also even collaborate with them.

This internship will tackle these new safety requirements, focusing in two aspects:

1. PLC based dynamic adjustment of safety restrictions: Safety regulation imposes the definition of “safety areas” around robots that depend on their reach and speed. A fixed safety area can seriously hamper the capacities of a mobile manipulator, either imposing it a very limited speed or impeding it to get close to elements in space (e.g. getting close to a work table). While safety areas can be dynamically reconfigured in lineally moving robots, it is yet an unsolved problem in omnidirectional ones.
2. Human awareness of robot’s actions: True safety implies not only that robots are safe, but that people around them feels safe. Human workers need to know what to expect from the robot, where is it going to move or how close they can get to it. New ways of passing this kind of information from the robot to the humans in hard industrial environments must be explored.

WORKING FRAMEWORK:

The Robotic Technology Area of Tecnalia is working on advanced techniques for flexible robotics systems. The main development framework used is the well-known ROS (Robot Operating System) http://www.ros.org/wiki/. The Area has several mobile platforms that are used as experimental testbeds for technological developments and could be used during the development of the internship.

OBJECTIVES:

The main objective of this internship is related the first aspect mentioned: to develop a concept for dynamically configurable safety zones around an omnidirectional mobile manipulator using a safe PLC. Development should target a certifiable solution. To achieve this objective, the student will need to perform several tasks:

1. Install, prepare and become familiar with the flexible robotic system of Tecnalia (ROS based – Indigo release).
2. Familiarize with most relevant safety regulations involving mobile robots.
3. Familiarize with SICK safety infrastructure (PLC, laser scanners, communications, CDS).
4. Familiarize with current safety implementation in one of the available mobile platforms.
5. Develop a concept for dynamic safety zone reconfiguration based on omnidirectional speed.
6. Develop a concept for dynamic safety zone reconfiguration based on location.
7. Develop a concept for dynamic safety zone reconfiguration when using the manipulator.

The secondary objective of the internship will be pursued depending on the progress of the main objective:

• Develop a concept for passing most relevant information from robot to user (speed, direction, safety zone…).

List of the expected outcomes:

• The student acquires a high level of knowledge of industrial safety regulations and mechanisms.
• The student acquires expertise using one or various Tecnalia robots and safety hardware.
• The student acquires expertise using the ROS framework.
• The student participates in a high level environment of team working inside Tecnalia’s robotics group.

Work Plan

• M1: Familiarization with ROS, Tecnalia’s mobile platforms and their safety hardware implementation.
• M2: Familiarization with safety regulations and SICK hardware.
• M3-M4: Development and implementation of concepts for dynamic safety zones.