“Safety-rated Monitored Stop” Collaborative Operation Function for Industrial Robots: a Simple Model for Functional Analysis Purposes

Abstract

Collaborative robot operations are standardized since, in consideration of the shared workspace, operators are exposed to possible contact with moving parts of robots. Collisions with humans can be extremely hazardous: for this reason, “safety functions”, based on sensors, actuators and control systems, are adopted. If there is a failure in one of these components, an accident can happen. Among the safety functions used, depending on the collaborative application, there is the “safety-rated monitored stop”. Functional safety analysis can help system designers and integrators to certify the achievement of the required objectives for the chosen safety function. In the present paper, a similar analysis is carried out for the safety-rated monitored stop function. The method chosen, depicted with an example, is based on applicable standards.