Design of a compact mechanical safety device for human-friendly robots

Abstract

Human safety is important in human-friendly robots. In this paper, we propose a new compact velocitybased mechanical safety device for human-friendly robots in order to improve the safety of humans. This safety device is attached to each of the robot’s driveshafts. The safety device stops the robot if it detects an unexpected high angular velocity in the driveshafts. The safety device works even when the robot’s computer breaks down, because it consists of only passive mechanical components without actuators, controllers, or batteries. First, we describe the features of the safety device. Next, we explain the structure and mechanism of the safety device. Third, we present the design of the safety device. Finally, we check whether the safety device achieves the necessary functions by using a 3D CAD.