Research was conducted to investigate the perception, decision and action processes involved in collision and injury avoidance with respect to both expected and unexpected robot movements. The industrial robots P50 and MH33 were used in the laboratory experiments; 24 industrial workers with previous experience with robots participated in the studies. In the first experiment, designed to measure the maximum speed of robot motions, an industrial robot performed a simulated 15 minute pick and place palletizing task. Subjects adjusted the speed of the robot's arm until a maximum but safe speed was determined. The second experiment determined the minimum time for robot inactivity needed to signal a safe to approach condition. Experiment number three investigated worker perception of the robot's working space. The authors conclude that in order to provide for an operator's comfort and safety, the robotic workstations should be designed with several design restrictions with respect to their operational characteristics. The speed of the robot's arm should be limited to no more than 70 centimeters/second. Idle times should be between 16 and 24 seconds. Layout design of the workstations should allow for minimum separation between the human operator and the robot's arm of 17 inches.
Worker Perception of Hazardous Robotic Workstations
1990
149 pages
Report
No indication
English
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