Real-time safety for human-robot interaction

This paper presents a strategy for ensuring safety during human-robot interaction in real time. A measure of danger during the interaction is explicitly Computed, based on factors affecting the impact force during a potential collision between the human and the robot. This danger index is then used as an input to real-time trajectory generation when the index exceeds a predefined threshold. The danger index is formulated to produce a provably stable, fast response in the presence of multiple surrounding obstacles. A motion strategy to minimize the danger index is developed for articulated multi-degree-of-freedom robots. Simulations and experiments show the efficacy of this approach. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.