Rounded Edges and Chamfers as a Protective Measure in Quasi-Static Contact Events

Abstract

In Human-Robot Collaboration, the human and robot system share a workspace and a task. Although there may be physical contact between the human and the robot system, the latter must ensure the safety of the human. This applies to all components of the robot system, including the end-effectors. Among other recommendations, the standards suggest that end-effectors use rounded edges or chamfers instead of sharp edges as a protective measure. However, the quantitative influence of these protective measures is not defined. Therefore, we experimentally investigated the influence of these protective measures in quasi-static contact events.