Robots are transforming industries, with applications in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and beyond. As robots increasingly operate alongside humans, ensuring their safety, reliability, and interoperability becomes critical. Robotics standards offer a structured approach to achieve these objectives. This blog will explore robotics standards through the lens of why they matter, what they cover, and how they are implemented.
Safety and Security Challenges of Robotics Standards Important?
1.Ensure Human Safety:
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- Reduces risks of injuries caused by mechanical failures, collisions, or unsafe operations.
- Establishes safeguards for collaborative workspaces where humans and robots coexist.
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- Ensures robots perform as intended under varying conditions, minimizing downtime and malfunctions.
- Provides guidelines for testing, redundancy, and fault tolerance.
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- Encourages compatibility across robot models, manufacturers, and integration systems through standard communication protocols.
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- Many industries require adherence to robotics safety standards for market access and liability protection.
What is Robotics Electronics Safety/Security
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- The ISO 10218 standard is the cornerstone for industrial robotics safety. It is divided into two parts:
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- Focuses on built-in safety features like stopping functions, reduced speed modes, and power limitation.
- Ensures robots have fault detection and recovery mechanisms.
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- Covers the integration of robots into systems, addressing layout, safeguards, and interaction zones.
- Includes collaborative operation guidelines, specifying safety-rated monitored stops and protective measures.
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- Defines safety-rated stops, emergency stop functions, and automatic restart protocols.
- Provides requirements for robot safeguarding methods, such as fencing, sensors, or light curtains.
- Addresses collaborative robots by specifying force, speed, and workspace limits.
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- A complementary standard to ISO 10218, providing detailed guidelines for collaborative robot systems (cobots).
- Defines specific safety limits for human-robot interactions, such as maximum allowable force and pressure.
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- Focuses on reliability and fail-safe performance of safety-related electronic systems, including robotics.
- Applicable to programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and other control elements in robotic systems.
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- Defines how to test the accuracy, repeatability, and other performance characteristics of industrial robots.
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- Standards like IEC 62443 address secure communication and protection against cyber threats in robotics.
Approach of Safety & Security towards Robotics Electronics Safety/Security
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- Start with a hazard analysis to identify risks specific to the robot’s environment.
- Implement built-in safety features, such as power-limiting mechanisms and fault detection systems, per ISO 10218-1.
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- Use ISO 10218-2 guidelines to design safe layouts for robotic work cells.
- Incorporate barriers, sensors, and collaborative zones based on risk assessments.
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- Test for compliance with ISO 9283 to ensure precision, repeatability, and accuracy.
- Validate collaborative robots against ISO/TS 15066 limits for speed and force during human interaction.
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- Train operators in the safe use of robots, covering emergency stops, fault recovery, and routine checks.
- Regularly inspect safety measures, such as fencing, sensors, and braking systems.
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- Use predictive maintenance systems to monitor wear and detect anomalies in real time.
Conclusion
Robotics standards like ISO 10218 ensure that robots operate safely and reliably, whether in a factory, warehouse, or collaborative environment. They set the foundation for building trust in robotics while fostering innovation and scalability. By following these standards, organizations can mitigate risks, improve performance, and comply with global regulations.