Preparing the published article.
How Collaborative Robots Implement Safety Functions
Safety comes from a mechanism, not from lowering the speed.
Common safety functions
| Function | What it does |
|---|---|
| Safety-rated stop | Emergency and protective stop to a defined category |
| Power and force limiting | Caps collision energy and contact force |
| Speed and separation monitoring | Slows the robot as a person approaches |
| Hand guiding | Constrains motion during manual guidance |
Implementation points
- Configure the functions from the outcome of a risk assessment, not from a preset.
- Assess tooling and workpieces together, because they change collision risk.
- Record and lock safety parameters so they cannot be changed casually.
A collaborative robot still requires assessment and validation for the specific cell.