Anthropomorphic motion control for safe and efficient human-robot cooperation in assembly system

Abstract

The concept of socio-technical systems emphasizes the mutual interrelationship between humans and machines. Accordingly, the objective of ergonomic design of socio-technical systems is to adapt the interaction between humans and machines in such a way that productivity, efficiency and humanity would not contradict each other. Hence, the human has to be considered as an integral part of the system. Considering the interaction between human and robot from a user-based point of view, it is essential to ensure the occupational safety and increase user acceptance and familiarity. In this context, the concept of anthropomorphism, i.e. the simulation of human characteristics by non-human agents such as robots, is a promising approach. Therefore the study that will be presented within this paper focuses on the effect of anthropomorphism of robot motion in industrial work systems. A virtual environment consisting of a robotized assembly cell was utilized to conduct the experiments. In order to simulate anthropomorphic movements, human pick and place movements were measured using an infrared motion capture system. The motion trajectories were used to simulate the motion of a virtual gantry robot with 6 degrees of freedom. Anthropomorphic and constant velocity profiles were compared. The task of the participants was to predict the movement’s destination as accurately and quickly as possible. Results show that the anthropomorphic profile leads to a significant shorter prediction time. Moreover, the shorter prediction time does not result in more errors. Practitioner Summary: Direct cooperation between the human and a robot improves the flexibility of manufacturing systems. To use the full potential of direct human-robot cooperation, the robot has to be accepted as a co-worker by the human. Anthropomorphism is an approach that is used in different areas to improve the acceptance of non-human entities as team-partners. Hence, the study within this work focuses on the effects of anthropomorphism in industrial work systems.