Development of Biomechanical Response Curves for the Calibration of Biofidelic Measuring Devices Used in Robot Collision Testing

Collaborative robots (cobots) can be employed in close proximity to human workers without safety fences. The operation mode Power and Force Limiting requires that cobots not exceed the biomechanical limits of ISO/TS 15066 to ensure protection against injuries caused by collisions with them. Collision tests must be performed to prove that cobots cannot exceed the biomechanical limits. Such tests are performed with a biofidelic measuring device that measures contact forces and replicates the biomechanics of the human body. Biomechanical response curves serve as a reference for the calibration of such devices. In order to be able to compare measurements and limits correctly and reliably, the limits and response curves for calibration must be obtained from the same data with the same methodology. In this article, we present a new technique for developing biomechanical response curves, which employs a statistical model we used to calculate biomechanical limits for cobots in a previous study. This technique’s development process entails normalizing the data over force, resampling them and then fitting the newly obtained samples to a log-normal distribution. The statistical model makes it possible to produce response curves for the same quantile we used for the limits. Our technique adds a confidence region around each response curve to express the sufficiency of the available data. We have produced response curves for 24 different body locations for which we have calculated limits. These curves will enable manufacturers of cobot testing equipment to calibrate their measuring devices precisely.