Safe Human-Robot-Interaction in Highly Flexible Warehouses using Augmented Reality and Heterogenous Fleet Management System

Abstract

Nowadays, production systems and warehouses still lack human-robot collaboration. Often due to safety issues robots are kept behind safety fences and the overall system is shutdown once a human enters. This paper is based on a new concept to overcome these issues. It consists of a safety concept which ensures a more efficient human-robot collaboration. The human worker can be localized via a safety vest which he/she wears and the nearby robots are also aware of this information. We propose a more efficient and safe overall system by using an Augmented Reality device which offers a simple interface between humans and robots and a Heterogeneous Fleet Management System which plans and provides collision-free paths for humans and robots and ensures that the resulting environment is safe for both robots and humans.