Research on methods of improving safety for collaborative robot

Abstract

Recently, robotics research has gradually shifted its focus to studying the characteristics of human-robot cooperation in industrial production applications in order to combine the precision and power of robots with human perception and flexibility. For this purpose, a new generation of robots, known as collaborative robots, or cobots, was born. The characteristic of cobots is to work collaboratively with humans without physical barriers, so human safety is always a top priority. In the scope of this research, the authors provide a synthesis of methods to improve safety for collaborative robots. Then, the authors suggest some future development directions in order to not only ensure safety but also improve the working efficiency of cobots.