Abstract
Smart manufacturing and smart factories depend on automation and robotics, whereas human–robot collaboration (HRC) contributes to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of today’s and future factories. Industrial robots especially in HRC settings can be hazardous if safety is not addressed properly. In this review, we look at the collaboration levels of HRC and what safety actions have been used to address safety. One hundred and ninety-three articles were identified from which, after screening and eligibility stages, 46 articles were used for the extraction stage. Predefined parameters such as: devices, algorithms, collaboration level, safety action, and standards used for HRC were extracted. Despite close human and robot collaboration, 25% of all reviewed studies did not use any safety actions, and more than 50% did not use any standard to address safety issues. This review shows HRC trends and what kind of functionalities are lacking in today’s HRC systems. HRC systems can be a tremendously complex process; therefore, proper safety mechanisms must be addressed at an early stage of development.
Highlights
Alongside the world, society, and everyday life, manufacturing is changing, while digitization is rapidly becoming de facto
There is no doubt that safety is one of the key challenges in human–robot collaboration (HRC); such characteristics as modularity and operability play an important role in the deployment of HRC systems
The safety aspect is crucial in regards to HRC because industrial robots can pose threats to human workers if proper safety mechanisms are not established
Summary
Society, and everyday life, manufacturing is changing, while digitization is rapidly becoming de facto. Tedious, and that do not require high skills are slowly being replaced by smart manufacturing systems. AI-based systems show great promise in automating tasks traditionally requiring human intelligence for adaptive decision making [1]. The media often emphasizes that automation will make humans obsolete and “robots will take our jobs” [2]. It is estimated that 14% of jobs in OECD countries are at a risk of automation [3]; the jobs that are at risk usually lack meaningfulness [4]. Automation and robotics are introducing new more creative job openings. It is shifting manufacturing in a more intelligent and safer direction regarding the production processes and with respect to the human workforce
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
