Integrating an anti-collision system based on laser Time-Of-Flight sensor in an industrial robot controller

Safe coexistence of industrial robots and human operators in the same workspace is one of the long standing goals of robotics research. One way to enforce safety is to endow the robotic system with additional sensors that can to some extent monitor the environment surrounding the robot and allow fast reaction to unexpected obstacles. This paper discusses the design of one such anti-collision system based on a laser Time-Of-Flight distance sensor. Integration of the external controller in the hardware and software architecture of a commercial industrial robot controller is discussed. Experimental results show fast response of the system to various obstacles.