Collaborating for Success: Optimizing System Efficiency and Resilience Under Agile Industrial Settings

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel human-robot collaboration strategy that enhances system efficiency and resilience by integrating 2D and 3D perception for environment monitoring and robot control, adhering to safety standards.

Contribution

It introduces a new method for safety zone configuration and dynamic human tracking using fused sensory data, improving system uptime and preventing deadlocks in collaborative environments.

Findings

Reduces task execution time significantly

Decreases system response delay

Enhances safety and resilience in collaborative tasks

Abstract

Designing an efficient and resilient human-robot collaboration strategy that not only upholds the safety and ergonomics of shared workspace but also enhances the performance and agility of collaborative setup presents significant challenges concerning environment perception and robot control. In this research, we introduce a novel approach for collaborative environment monitoring and robot motion regulation to address this multifaceted problem. Our study proposes novel computation and division of safety monitoring zones, adhering to ISO 13855 and TS 15066 standards, utilizing 2D lasers information. These zones are not only configured in the standard three-layer arrangement but are also expanded into two adjacent quadrants, thereby enhancing system uptime and preventing unnecessary deadlocks. Moreover, we also leverage 3D visual information to track dynamic human articulations and extended intrusions. Drawing upon the fused sensory data from 2D and 3D perceptual spaces, our proposed hierarchical controller stably regulates robot velocity, validated using Lasalle in-variance principle. Empirical evaluations demonstrate that our approach significantly reduces task execution time and system response delay, resulting in improved efficiency and resilience within collaborative settings.