Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation
Development and Validation of Tactile Sensor Systems for Reliable Collision Detection during Human-Robot Interaction (TAKSENS)
There will be great need in the future for robotic systems that share work areas with humans or work directly with them. Such human-robot collaboration is intended to combine humans’ cognitive and highly flexible capabilities with robots’ strengths such as precision, load carrying capacity and indefatigability.
The prerequisite for human-robot cooperation is human safety. A human may not be injured in the event of a collision. The Fraunhofer IFF in Magdeburg is developing a groundbreaking key technology for human-robot collaboration, a tactile, pressure-sensitive sensor system that reliably detects a robot’s collisions with humans and objects and stops it immediately in the event of a collision. The sensor system’s distinctive features are its inexpensive sensor configuration, high robustness and customizability for complex robot surfaces. It will be usable on any type of robot.
In this project, the Fraunhofer IFF is studying and validating the complex requirements and correlations of materials science, manufacturing, electronics and software.
A demonstrator will be employed to demonstrate the technical feasibility and performance as well as the commercial potential of tactile sensor systems that reliably detect collisions and limit the forces of interaction and to establish the basis for commercialization.