SBIR Phase I: Programmable Three-Dimensional (3D) Light Curtains for Enhanced Human-Robot Collaboration

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力旨在通过新型三维（3D）传感器提高人机协作的效率和安全性。由于劳动力短缺给供应链带来压力，公司正在迅速采用机器人解决方案，以减少获取材料的时间延迟。过去的机器人通常是自己操作的，而现在的机器人则是与人类合作来完成复杂的任务。然后，人类工人可以过渡到更高技能的职位，在那里他们可以协助完成任务中更复杂的方面，而机器人则执行枯燥单调的操作。新的应用程序是通过机器人和人类之间的密切互动实现的。物理屏障曾经被用来保证分离和安全，现在传感器可以探测人，并确保人机交互是安全的。尽管3D传感器在机器人的许多其他领域得到了广泛的应用，但低分辨率和处理要求迫使大多数安全应用使用相同的基本2D传感器技术，这种技术已经使用了几十年。由于2D技术无法提供3D保护，因此增加了安全缓冲，并且限制了人机协作。提供3D覆盖的新型安全传感器将提高全球供应链中机器人应用的协作和效率。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在将3D光幕安全传感器商业化，该传感器具有在自主系统和人机交互中使用的潜力。核心技术是一个软件定义的3D传感器，可以根据要求感知特定的3D表面。与目前市场上大多数传感器传感整个3D体积不同，这些传感器监测指定体积内单个请求的3D表面。对于3D安全传感，这种方法允许用户自适应地编程机器人和人类周围的特定3D安全边界。这消除了其他传感器所需的复杂3D处理，取而代之的是类似于现有2D安全传感器工作方式的简单检测任务。拟议的研究可能会推进3D光幕技术在敏捷制造和协作机器人任务中的适用性，潜在地提高工厂的安全性和效率。这项工作的目标是改进检测能力，增加视野，并通过客户指导的测试推进产品准备。研究将包括迭代模拟，原型设计，以及潜在光学和光子配置的表征，以实现这些目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to improve the efficiency and safety of human-robot collaboration with a new type of three-dimensional (3D) sensor. As labor shortages stress supply chains, companies are rapidly adopting robotic solutions to try and reduce time delays in obtaining materials. Whereas robots of the past typically operated by themselves, the proposed robots work collaboratively with humans to perform complicated tasks. Human workers can then transition to higher-skill positions where they can assist in the more intricate aspects of a task, while robots perform the dull and monotonous operations. The new applications are enabled by close interactions between robots and humans. Where physical barriers were once used to guarantee separation and safety, sensors now detect people and ensure human-robot interactions are safe. Despite the broad use of 3D sensors in many other areas of robotics, low-resolution and processing requirements force most safety applications to use the same fundamental 2D sensor technology that have been employed for decades. Since 2D technology cannot provide 3D protection, safety buffers are added, and human-robot collaboration is limited. New safety-sensors that provide 3D coverage will enable improved collaboration and efficiency in robotic applications throughout global supply chains.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to commercialize 3D light curtain safety sensors that have potential for use in autonomous systems and human-robot interactions. The core technology is a software-defined 3D sensor that senses specific 3D surfaces upon request. Instead of sensing an entire 3D volume like most sensors on the market today, these sensors monitor a single requested 3D surface within the specified volume. For 3D safety sensing, this approach allows users to adaptively program specific 3D safety boundaries around robots and humans. This removes the complex 3D processing required by other sensors and replaces it with a simple detection task similar to how existing 2D safety-sensors work. The proposed research may advance the applicability of the 3D light curtain technology to tasks in agile manufacturing and co-bots, potentially improving safety and efficiency in factories. The objectives of this work are to improve detection capabilities, increase field-of-view, and advance product readiness with customer-guided testing. Research will include iterative simulation, prototyping, and characterization of potential optical and photonic configurations to achieve these goals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.