With the increasing demand of robots for industrial and domestic use, it becomes indispensable to ensure their safety, security, and reliability. Safety, Security and Reliability of Robotic Systems: Algorithms, Applications, and Technologies provides a broad and comprehensive coverage of the evolution of robotic systems, as well as industrial statistics and future forecasts. First, it analyzes the safety-related parameters of these systems. Then, it covers security attacks and related countermeasures, and how to establish reliability in these systems. The later sections of the book then discuss various applications of these systems in modern industrial and domestic settings. By the end of this book, you will be familiarized with the theoretical frameworks, algorithms, applications, technologies, and empirical research findings on the safety, security, and reliability of robotic systems, while the book’s modular structure and comprehensive material will keep you interested and involved throughout. This book is an essential resource for students, professionals, and entrepreneurs who wish to understand the safe, secure, and reliable use of robotics in real-world applications. It is edited by two specialists in the field, with chapter contributions from an array of experts on robotics systems and applications.

Robots are increasingly being used in industry to perform various types of tasks. Some of the tasks performed by robots in industry are spot welding, materials handling, arc welding, and routing. The population of robots is growing at a significant rate in various parts of the world; for example, in 1984, a report published by the British Robot Association indicated a robot popula tion distribution between Japan (64,600), Western Europe (20,500), and the United States (13,000). This shows a significant number of robots in use. Data available for West Germany and the United Kingdom indicate that in 1977 there were 541 and 80 robots in use, respectively, and in 1984 these numbers went up to 6600 and 2623, respectively. Just as for other engineering products, the reliability and safety of robots are important. A robot has to be safe and reliable. An unreliable robot may become the cause of unsafe conditions, high maintenance costs, inconvenience, etc. Robots make use of electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, electronic, and hydraulic parts. This makes their reliability problem a challenging task because of the many different sources of failures. According to some published literature, the best mean time between failures (MTBF) achieved by robots is only 2500 hours. This means there is definite room for further improvement in robot reliability. With respect to safety, there have been five fatal accidents involving robots since 1978.

As robots are used more and more to perform a variety of tasks in a range of fields, it is imperative to make the robots as reliable and safe as possible. Yet no book currently covers robot reliability and safety within one framework. Robot System Reliability and Safety: A Modern Approach presents up-to-date information on robot reliability, safety

This book reboots the conversation about all technologies relating to robot safety. It covers key features of industry standards, relevant government regulations, hardware devices, physical safeguards, and vendor-specific software implementations, including FANUC's Dual-Check Safety, ABB's SafeMove and more. Robotic Safety Systems: An Applied Approach discusses some of the unique concerns associated with remote I/O and systems designed to be controlled over wide-area networks, including the internet. It includes annotated example safety configurations and programs that can be customized and loaded and deployed on existing robots, giving the reader tools to immediately apply the lessons learned in this text. The text also provides best practices for using cutting-edge systems – such as cobots and mobile robotic arms (with some autonomy) – systems that have advanced faster than the regulatory frameworks. Included are real world examples from FANUC, ABB, Universal Robots, and Kuka – the most popular brands on the market. Finally, as an appendix to this text, a case study demonstrating proper use of A3/RIA standards is included. This will allow readers to make an informed decision prior to purchasing these expensive references. This book is intended for post-secondary classes at universities with specializations in robotics or robotic engineering. It will also be useful for robot systems integrators – design engineers, consultants, integration experts, robot programmers.

The introduction of a new technology in a consolidated field has the potential to disrupt usual practices and create a fertile ground for errors. An example is robotic surgery that is now used in most surgical specialties, pushed by technology developers and enthusiastic surgeons. To analyze the potential impact of robotic surgery on patient safety, a consortium of major European Universities started the project SAFROS whose findings are summarized and further elaborated in the three parts of this book. Part one describes safety in complex systems such as surgery, how this may disrupt the traditional surgical workflow, how safety can be monitored, and the research questions that must be posed. Part two of the book describes the main findings of this research, by identifying the risks of robotic surgery and by describing where its ancillary technologies may fail. This part addresses features and evaluation of anatomic imaging and modeling, actions in the operating room, robot monitoring and control, operator interface, and surgical training. Part three of the book draws the conclusions and offers suggestions on how to limit the risks of medical errors. One possible approach is to use automation to monitor and execute parts of an intervention, thus suggesting that robotics and artificial intelligence will be major elements of the operating room of the future.

Grippers in Motion provides a comprehensive, practice-oriented guide to the fascinating details of automation processes involving gripping and manipulation. This intriguing and colorful book leads the reader from the history of automation and robotics to the fundamentals of the gripping process as well as the interaction of the gripping process with individual workpieces. Boundary conditions and initial situation of the gripping process are defined, and how subsequent motion follows gripping is shown. The implementation of these motion processes, from simple linear motions to the kinematics of multiple axes, is illustrated in a practical way. This practical introduction motivates students and even professionals to learn more about the world of robotic grippers. Grippers in Motion includes a spectrum of real-world applications demonstrating the possibilities and varieties of automation in practice.

This book contains a comprehensive overview of all current uses of robots in rehabilitation. The underlying principles in each application are provided. This is followed by a critical review of the technology available, of the utilization protocols, and of user studies, outcomes, and clinical evidence, if existing. Ethical and social implications of robot use are also discussed. The reader will have an in depth view of rehabilitation robots, from principles to practice.