On Intrinsic Safety of Soft Robots

Haider Abidi,Matteo Cianchetti

doi:10.3389/frobt.2017.00005

Abstract

The rapidly growing field of soft robotics owes its success to the vast vistas of possibilities they promise. They may be utilized as standalone systems, or work in harmony with the existing robotic technologies. Being based on soft and/or flexible materials, soft robots have usually high dexterity and at the same time, they are also often considered ‘intrinsically safe’. This is generally true and soft-bodied robots can be considered safer from a mechanical point of view, but this is sometimes improperly used. The identification of possible safety loopholes in soft robots is the subject of this paper. After a general overview of safety in robotics, we reported an overview of the main sources of unsafe conditions that may arise by the use of soft robotics technologies. Safety aspects are discussed in three categories quasi-static, dynamic and material failure. Some safety factors exclusive to soft robots such as whiplash like effect and energy stored in highly strained elements are also introduced. Measures to avoid such unsafe conditions are presented such as establishing operational limits and introduction of inspection regimes and arrest systems.

Highlights

As robots become more and more sophisticated and ubiquitous, the question of safety becomes ever more important
In order to evaluate the safety concerns related to robotics, certain metrics have been adopted over the years
De Santis et al (2008) and Bicchi and Tonietti (2004) give an insight to the safety standards and injury evaluation criterions used in robotics

Summary

Introduction

As robots become more and more sophisticated and ubiquitous, the question of safety becomes ever more important. A soft exterior may be sufficient to ensure safety by reducing the mechanical impulse transferred; this depends on other parameters such as the reflected inertia of the robot and the rate of change of velocity during the impact. One may argue that given the relatively low masses and velocities of soft robots, this could be a validation of the intrinsic safety, in the case of blunt impacts at least.

Results

Conclusion