Development of a new Mechanic Safety Coupling for Human Robot Collaboration using Magnetorheological Fluids

To ensure safety during Human-Robot-Collaboration with conventional robots, safety methods for tools are required, as common approaches don't deliver sufficient performance. Since standard industrial robots are capable of moving heavyweight objects with high velocity and the mechanical structure of the robot implies high moving masses, they represent a significant hazard for human operators. This paper presents an approach to limit the risk of injuries by reducing the transmitted energy in case of a collision by a decoupling of masses between robot and tool. The described tool concept is based on magnetorheological fluids, which act like an inherent safety clutch medium.