A Methodical Approach to the Risk Assessment of Robotic Applications in Open Spaces

Abstract

Open spaces such as trade fairs, co-working spaces or laboratories impose higher risks of unintended human-robot contacts compared to industrial applications on the shop floor. collaborative robotic systems in open spaces are especially difficult to assess in terms of their potential risks as relevant standards and directives are not sufficiently applicable and leave exhibitors or operators in uncertain legal situations in cases of harming people. This paper presents a possible approach in assessing the risks of collaborative robotic systems operated in open spaces pointing out relevant safety measures. The presented approach is based on a specifically designed decision tree indicating instructions for actions to increase safety dependent on intended interaction scenarios. The proposed approach is shown exemplarily on two different types of applications with a stationary robot and a mobile manipulator with reference to two different interaction scenarios. The proposed approach can especially be used for assessing potential risks on robotic systems operated in learning factories as well as robotic systems showcased at exhibitions or trade-fairs and was developed as part of the COVR Toolkit.