Colloquium Series Talk: Enhancing Safety and Efficiency in Human-Robot Collaboration for Future Manufacturing Workspaces

LIVE STREAM: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/99144326783

Abstract: In the future, manufacturing facilities will feature complex products, flexible production, and competitive costs achieved through the use of collaborative robots working alongside human workers in the same workspace. However, current safety procedures require that collaborative robots operate in a reduced speed mode or stop when a human worker is present, which can negatively impact production efficiency. To address this, researchers have developed a smart path planning algorithm that uses computer vision techniques to construct indoor maps and locate robotic devices, identify the presence of human workers, and establish contact avoidance zones to ensure safe human-robot collaboration in shared workspaces.

NIOSH intends to develop a methodology that enables robotic devices to anticipate the movements of human workers and prevent collisions, increasing the efficiency of manufacturing processes while minimizing the risk of injuries in collaborative environments. By incorporating avoidance zones into the map, the algorithm ensures that the robot is always aware of the location of human workers, facilitating smooth and safe interactions between human workers and robots. This research fills the emerging human-robot interface gap by providing a framework for the development of indoor maps and safe path planning algorithms for collaborative robots, thereby enabling productive and safe human-robot collaboration in manufacturing facilities.