Vision and RTLS Safety Implementation in an Experimental Human—Robot Collaboration Scenario

Abstract

Human–robot collaboration is becoming ever more widespread in industry because of its adaptability. Conventional safety elements are used when converting a workplace into a collaborative one, although new technologies are becoming more widespread. This work proposes a safe robotic workplace that can adapt its operation and speed depending on the surrounding stimuli. The benefit lies in its use of promising technologies that combine safety and collaboration. Using a depth camera operating on the passive stereo principle, safety zones are created around the robotic workplace, while objects moving around the workplace are identified, including their distance from the robotic system. Passive stereo employs two colour streams that enable distance computation based on pixel shift. The colour stream is also used in the human identification process. Human identification is achieved using the Histogram of Oriented Gradients, pre-learned precisely for this purpose. The workplace also features autonomous trolleys for material supply. Unequivocal trolley identification is achieved using a real-time location system through tags placed on each trolley. The robotic workplace’s speed and the halting of its work depend on the positions of objects within safety zones. The entry of a trolley with an exception to a safety zone does not affect the workplace speed. This work simulates individual scenarios that may occur at a robotic workplace with an emphasis on compliance with safety measures. The novelty lies in the integration of a real-time location system into a vision-based safety system, which are not new technologies by themselves, but their interconnection to achieve exception handling in order to reduce downtimes in the collaborative robotic system is innovative.