Physical safety in robotics

Abstract

Over the last decade, safe physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI) has been made possible due to significant advances in mechatronics, control, and planning. One result of these developments were fully integrated safer lightweight robots that are equipped with sophisticated interaction control capabilities. These new robots have even opened up novel and unforeseen application domains, in which human and robot are sought to work and interact with each other. For this, safe physical interaction is prime. This chapter gives a brief overview on two of its central aspects: human safety from an injury and standards standpoint, and control for physical interaction with focus on interaction control and collision handling.