Industrial robots are used extensively in manufacturing to perform repetitive tasks such as assembly and welding and typically operate inside cages or fences to protect humans from possible collisions that could result in injury. Although safety cages have been the traditional approach to safeguarding humans from industrial robots, they do have drawbacks in that they take up a great amount of space and limit a manufacturer’s ability to add more robots on the factory floor.

This demo showcases the creation of a virtual safety guard around a robotic arm in order to detect access or presence of operators in dangerous areas, allowing real-time dynamic setting of the detection and warning zones to prevent possible collisions with humans and minimizing risk of serious injury.