Risks management and cobots. Identifying critical variables

Abstract

A collaborative robot or a "Cobot" is the name of a robot that can share a workspace with operators in the absence of a protective fence or with only partial protection. They represent a new and expanding sector of industrial robotics. This investigation draws from the latest international rules and safety parameters related to work with collaborative robots. Its detailed research is motivated by the design of a collaborative industrial robot system, hazard elimination, risk reduction, and different collaborative operations, such as power and force limiting, collaborative operation design, and end-effector safety requirements, among others. The purpose of our study is to analyze the most important variables that must be controlled in accordance with the desired use of the Cobot, according to ISO / TS 15066, ISO / TR 20218-1and some other generic safety regulations on machines and industrial robots. A series of observations and appreciations on the use of the Cobot will also be presented.