Development of retrofittable collision avoiding sensor for industrial robots

Many robots were installed in the manufacturing industry in the last decade. This shows the importance and value of the robot system in production. But many robots are not collaborative with humans. Collision detection is a fundamental issue for the safety of a robotic cell. All existing collision detection sensors are worked by opposing force (contact between robot and human) and it is injurious to humans due to the high collision force response of the robot at maximum speed. This research work demonstrates the use of the capacitive sensor for collision detection and the experiment shows the collision avoiding by non – contact manner. The sensors are mounted on the links of the robot. If the robot comes closer to humans, the capacitive sensor will detect the human presence and send the signal to the robot controller before the robot touches the human. The controller will turn off or hold the robot in position immediately based on the sensor signal. So this technique will ensure human safety more and more when compared to the current robot system. This sensor can be installed on a new robot and retrofitted to the old robot.

Keywords:

Robot collision , Capacitance sensor , Non – Contact Sensor , Human safety