Abstract
Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) for collaborative robots has become an active research topic recently. Collaborative robots assist human workers in their tasks and improve their efficiency. However, the worker should also feel safe and comfortable while interacting with the robot. In this paper, we propose a human-following motion planning and control scheme for a collaborative robot which supplies the necessary parts and tools to a worker in an assembly process in a factory. In our proposed scheme, a 3-D sensing system is employed to measure the skeletal data of the worker. At each sampling time of the sensing system, an optimal delivery position is estimated using the real-time worker data. At the same time, the future positions of the worker are predicted as probabilistic distributions. A Model Predictive Control (MPC)-based trajectory planner is used to calculate a robot trajectory that supplies the required parts and tools to the worker and follows the predicted future positions of the worker. We have installed our proposed scheme in a collaborative robot system with a 2-DOF planar manipulator. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme enables the robot to provide anytime assistance to a worker who is moving around in the workspace while ensuring the safety and comfort of the worker.
Highlights
Published: 9 December 2021The concept of collaborative robots was introduced in the early 1990s
The collaborative robot systems are being actively introduced in the manufacturing industry
We present a review of the existing research on human–robot handover tasks, human-following robots, and motion/task planning based on human motion prediction
Summary
The concept of collaborative robots was introduced in the early 1990s. The first collaborative system was proposed by Troccaz et al in 1993 [1]. Human-following motion of the collaborative robot is proposed for delivery of parts and tools to the worker. The proposed human-following motion planning and control scheme enables the worker to pick up the necessary parts and tools when needed. The proposed scheme predicts the motion of the worker and calculates an optimal delivery position for the handover of parts and tools from the worker to the robot for each task of the assembly process. This scheme has been designed for a single worker operating within his/her workspace.
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