ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on human-robot collaboration in manufacturing, where time synchronization of the motions is required. A set of design principles of the safe and efficient robot collaboration system (SERoCS) for the next generation co-robots is discussed. SERoCS consists of three modules: the robust cognition algorithms for environment monitoring, the optimal task planning algorithms for safe human-robot collaborations, and the safe motion planning and control algorithms for safe human-robot interactions. As demonstrated by the experiment, SERoCS is able to address the design challenges and significantly expanded the skill sets of the co-robots to allow them to work safely and efficiently with their human counterparts. The development of SERoCS will create a significant advancement toward adoption of co-robots in various industries. SERoCS can also be applied to other time-sharing human-robot interactions.
