Glossary · Robotics
Collaborative robot
Also known as: Robot for collaborative applications
German: Kollaborativer Roboter
In industrial robotics, a collaborative robot is a robot designed to be used in a collaborative application, where people and the robot work in a shared space during automatic operation. Whether the application is safe is decided by the risk assessment of the whole application, not by the robot alone.
- Robotics
- Standards
- Functional safety
In one sentence
A collaborative robot is designed for applications where people and robot share a workspace; safety depends on the whole application.
Example
A collaborative robot hands screws to a worker at an assembly bench; the integrator limited speed and force after measuring contact pressures at the fixture.
How it applies
- Engineering: Safety in collaborative applications relies on one or more methods such as safety-rated monitored stop, hand guiding, speed and separation monitoring, or power and force limiting. ISO 10218-2 covers these applications; the biomechanical limits formerly in ISO/TS 15066 are used to assess contact.
- Commissioning: Speeds, force limits, protective separation distances and the layout are validated on the real cell, including the tool and the workpiece. A sharp gripper can make a force-limited robot unsuitable for contact.
- Documentation: Never describe a robot as safe because it is collaborative. The documentation team should state which collaborative method the application uses, which body regions may be contacted, the validated parameter values and the Residual risk that remains for the user.
Collaborative robot vs. collaborative application
The robot is a component; the application is robot, tool, workpiece, layout and task together. Current robot safety standards put the emphasis on the collaborative application, because the same robot can be safe for one task and hazardous for another.