This paper sets up a framework to assess co-agency in human-robot interactions, and applies it specifically to the socio-technical safety analysis of collaborative robots. We also examine to what ...extent the concept of Situation Awareness can be applied to assess collaborative robots as efficient team members in socio-technical systems. We explain some theoretical concerns with traditional concepts of Situation Awareness and defend why the concept of Joint Cognitive Systems, which maps the conceptualization of the cognitive system onto the work system as a whole, is best suited for issues of distributed cognition and controllability in human-robot interaction. Thereafter we present a five-step methodology specifically conceived for cobot applications serving the aim of goal coordination between multiple agents by functional interactions. The proposed framework merges two existing safety and resilience analysis methods, being the Functional Resonance Analysis Method and Interdependence Analysis. These methods are used in combination to assess shared control in safe and efficient human-robot interaction from a systems-thinking perspective. This allows to describe the systemic conditions for Distributed Situation Awareness in terms of observable system interactions and as an emergent object of distributed cognition. Instead of looking at undesirable safety outcomes, we have imposed the focus of co-agency as the unit of analysis in line with the Joint Cognitive Systems perspective. The theoretical insights from this paper are additionally applied to a hypothetical but credible demonstration case study with collaborative warehouse robots.
•A socio-technical modelling framework for co-agency in human-robot interactions is presented.•Functional Resonance Analysis Method and Interdependency Analysis are combined into a new framework.•Interdependency is the central organizing principle to design principles that can support humans and robots engaged in joint activity.•The principles of Observability, Directability and Predictability are applied as the essential elements of multi-agent goal coordination.
In previous scholarly literature, safety is understood as a main obstacle for introducing human–robot collaboration in industrial production. This interdisciplinary paper is concerned with the safety ...and regulation of human–robot collaboration and contribute to this debate through a case study of stakeholders in Sweden, exploring the views of the involved stakeholders which is largely absent in previous research literature. The case study concludes that while stressing some potential benefits, stakeholders within the industry are generally reluctant to human–robot collaboration. Current regulation and safety standards are understood to be one of the prominent obstacles to such solutions. Based on the perspectives of the stakeholders as well as an analysis of current regulation and safety standards, the paper identifies the following problems with current regulation: (i) existing categories and conceptualizations used to guide safety evaluation are problematic, (ii) intelligence and autonomous aspects of collaborative systems are not sufficiently addressed, (iii) current standards do not enable evaluation of the trade off between safety, efficiency and flexibility, and (iv) the regulation has a lack of focus on active safety and using the control system as a safety measure.
In an attempt to address these identified problems, the difference between traditional collaborative robots and intelligent human–robot collaboration is analyzed in the paper and a new safety approach is suggested, called Deliberative safety, which allows the humans and robots to switch between different safety measures based on the need for flexibility or efficiency to reach production goals. While considering system performance, we propose a taxonomy to better support the design of deliberative safety as well as five safety measures to use in a deliberative safety approach. These measures include available measures like perimeter safety, zone safety and reactive safety to more advanced measures like planned and active safety, and when used together, they can enable intelligent human–robot collaboration.
•Existing conceptualizations used to guide safety evaluation of HRC are problematic.•Safety standards do not enable evaluation of the trade off between safety, efficiency and flexibility.•New safety approach called Deliberative Safety, allow changes of safety measures during operation.•These changes are based on the need and intention of both the humans and robots.•New safety measures better suited for intelligent automation based on key performance indicators.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have undergone rapid developments in recent decades. This has made them very popular for various military and civilian applications allowing us to reach places that were ...previously hard to reach in addition to saving time and lives. A highly desirable direction when developing unmanned aerial vehicles is towards achieving fully autonomous missions and performing their dedicated tasks with minimum human interaction. Thus, this paper provides a survey of some of the recent developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles related to safe autonomous navigation, which is a very critical component in the whole system. A great part of this paper focus on advanced methods capable of producing three-dimensional avoidance maneuvers and safe trajectories. Research challenges related to unmanned aerial vehicle development are also highlighted.
Exploring tasks in unknown environments has become a relevant search and rescue robotics approach. Ground robots are a better alternative to rescuers for first exploration. However, exploration ...progress is often limited by uneven terrains that exceed the kinematic capabilities of robots, including those with complex locomotion systems. This work proposes an innovative solution based on collaborative behaviours to overcome even terrains. A method employing two collaborative robots designed to operate in a marsupial configuration to surmount uneven terrains has been implemented. These robots, denoted as R1 (enhanced with a mobile ramp) and R2 (serving as an explorer), interact synergistically to expand the explored area autonomously. A state machine has been implemented to manage the progression of the mission, based on a perception (RGB-D) system, for both decision-making and autonomous execution of the process. In the initial stage, the terrain and ascent zones to be explored are characterized using point clouds and unsupervised learning. Subsequently, the second stage manages the interaction between the robots by controlling the R2 ascent through the R1 ramp using artificial vision algorithms and beacons. Outdoor tests have been performed to validate the method. The main results show an effectiveness of 95% in automatically identifying access zones.
•Development of a collaborative robot-based method inspired by marsupial robots.•Vision-based state machine to manage the process of environment characterization and robot ascent.•Integrated Sensory Algorithmic System for Processing Perception and Instrumentation.
This article presents a state-of-the-art survey on the robotic systems, sensors, actuators, and collaborative strategies for physical human-robot collaboration (pHRC). This article starts with an ...overview of some robotic systems with cutting-edge technologies (sensors and actuators) suitable for pHRC operations and the intelligent assist devices employed in pHRC. Sensors being among the essential components to establish communication between a human and a robotic system are surveyed. The sensor supplies the signal needed to drive the robotic actuators. The survey reveals that the design of new generation collaborative robots and other intelligent robotic systems has paved the way for sophisticated learning techniques and control algorithms to be deployed in pHRC. Furthermore, it revealed the relevant components needed to be considered for effective pHRC to be accomplished. Finally, a discussion of the major advances is made, some research directions, and future challenges are presented.
The use of assistive technologies, such as digital instructions (DIs) and collaborative robots (cobots), can improve the productivity of assembly system. However, their implementation remains ...arbitrary. In this study, a decision support system based on tactical-level variables (i.e. throughput, operator and equipment cost, operation time and type) was proposed with the aim of suggesting when the introduction of assistive technologies becomes profitable. Four different assembly system configurations (i.e. manual assembly, manual assembly with the implementation of DIs, manual assembly with the implementation of cobots and manual assembly with the implementation of both DIs and cobots) were modelled by means of four different cost models and analysed in depth with a parametric analysis carried out by varying the tactical-level variables. The results suggested that, when the throughput is low, the introduction of cobots should be considered only in cases of high operation times, while the introduction of DIs and/or cobots is the best alternative when the throughput is high. Finally, the validity of the approach is proved by comparing the results suggested by the decision support system with those obtained from a case study.
This article presents a sensor, called a skin-type dual proximity sensor (STPS) that can provide distance information in the form of impedance between a sensor and an approaching object before the ...collision. Meanwhile, a new method regarding the selection of the resonant frequency range for optimizing the measured distance is validated. The sensor adopts the combined sensing principle of inductive-capacitive proximity sensing. STPS can be fabricated with various dimensions and shapes, and easily attached to robot surfaces. Represented by the series of sensors studied with the dimensions of 100 × 100 × 2.75 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> \text{mm}</tex-math></inline-formula>, the proposed sensor can detect an approaching human body up to 300 mm away. In this article, sensor system modeling and simulation are conducted, followed by fabrication and signal processing methods. Finally, the performances of the sensor are experimentally validated, thoroughly analyzed concerning various parameters, and demonstrated with the collaboration between human and robots.
The world is living the fourth industrial revolution, marked by the increasing intelligence and automation of manufacturing systems. Nevertheless, there are types of tasks that are too complex or too ...expensive to be fully automated, it would be more efficient if the machines were able to work with the human, not only by sharing the same workspace but also as useful collaborators. A possible solution to that problem is on human–robot interaction systems, understanding the applications where they can be helpful to implement and what are the challenges they face. This work proposes the development of an industrial prototype of a human–machine interaction system through Augmented Reality, in which the objective is to enable an industrial operator without any programming experience to program a robot. The system itself is divided into two different parts: the tracking system, which records the operator’s hand movement, and the translator system, which writes the program to be sent to the robot that will execute the task. To demonstrate the concept, the user drew geometric figures, and the robot was able to replicate the operator’s path recorded.
The Industry 4.0 paradigm requires concepts for integrating intelligent/ smart IoT Solutions into manufacturing. Such intelligent solutions are envisioned to increase flexibility and adaptability in ...smart factories. Especially autonomous cobots capable of adapting to changing conditions are a key enabler for changeable factory concepts. However, identifying the requirements and solution scenarios incorporating intelligent products challenges the manufacturing industry, especially in the SME sector. In pick and place scenarios, changing coordinate systems of workpiece carriers cause placing process errors. Using the IPIDS framework, this paper describes the development of a tool-center-point positioning method to improve the process stability of a collaborative robot in a changeable assembly workstation. Applying the framework identifies the requirement for an intelligent workpiece carrier as a part of the solution. Implementing and evaluating the solution within a changeable factory validates the IPIDS framework.
Collaborative robots (Cobots), an important component of the Industry 5.0 era, have been rapidly entering a variety of industrial application scenarios. However, employees working with them are ...reluctant to accept cobots into the workplace. Therefore, the traditional technology acceptance model (TAM) is unsuitable for research on the acceptance of cobots with artificial intelligence and the human-robot interaction process. In addition, anthropomorphism cannot explain the lower employee acceptance with the increase of cobots anthropomorphic from the mechanistic level. Therefore, based on the human-robot interaction phenomenon in the emerging industrial field, combined with the Uncanny Valley effect and intergroup threat theory, 300 subjects were invited to conduct an empirical study using experimental vignette methodology (EVM). The findings are as follows: 1) Perceived competence plays a mediating role in the relationship between cobots anthropomorphic and acceptance of cobots; 2) Perceived competence and perceived threat serially mediates the relationship between cobots anthropomorphic and acceptance of cobots; 3) The cobot use self-efficacy plays a moderating role in the relationship between perceived competence and perceived threat. The research results provide a mechanistic explanation for alleviating the low acceptance of cobots, give measures and methods to improve acceptance of cobots and provide solutions for the promotion and application of cobots in the industrial field.
•Perceived competence mediate the relationship between cobots anthropomorphic and acceptance of cobots.•Perceived threat mediate the relationship between cobots anthropomorphic and acceptance of cobots.•Cobots use self-efficacy moderate the relationship between perceived competence and perceived threat.
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