Karwowski W, Rahimi M
Center for Industrial Ergonomics, University of Louisville, KY 40292.
Ergonomics. 1991 May;34(5):531-46. doi: 10.1080/00140139108967335.
Industrial robots often operate at high speed, with unpredictable motion patterns and erratic idle times. Serious injuries and deaths have occurred due to operator misperception of these robot design and performance characteristics. The main objective of the research project was to study human perceptual aspects of hazardous robotics workstations. Two laboratory experiments were designed to investigate workers' perceptions of two industrial robots with different physical configurations and performance capabilities. Twenty-four subjects participated in the study. All subjects were chosen from local industries, and had had considerable exposure to robots and other automated equipment in their working experience. Experiment 1 investigated the maximum speed of robot arm motions that workers, who were experienced with operation of industrial robots, judged to be 'safe' for monitoring tasks. It was found that the selection of safe speed depends on the size of the robot and the speed with which the robot begins its operation. Speeds of less than 51 cm/s and 63 cm/s for large and small robots, respectively, were perceived as safe, i.e., ones that did not result in workers feeling uneasy or endangered when working in close proximity to the robot and monitoring its actions. Experiment 2 investigated the minimum value of robot idle time (inactivity) perceived by industrial workers as system malfunction, and an indication of the 'safe-to-approach' condition. It was found that idle times of 41 s and 28 s or less for the small and large robots, respectively, were perceived by workers to be a result of system malfunction. About 20% of the workers waited only 10 s or less before deciding that the robot had stopped because of system malfunction. The idle times were affected by the subjects' prior exposure to a simulated robot accident. Further interpretations of the results and suggestions for operational limitations of robot systems are discussed.
工业机器人通常高速运行，运动模式不可预测，闲置时间也不稳定。由于操作人员对这些机器人的设计和性能特征存在误解，已发生了严重的伤亡事故。该研究项目的主要目标是研究危险机器人工作站的人类感知方面。设计了两个实验室实验来调查工人对两种具有不同物理配置和性能能力的工业机器人的感知。24名受试者参与了这项研究。所有受试者均选自当地企业，并且在工作经历中对机器人和其他自动化设备有相当多的接触。实验1调查了有工业机器人操作经验的工人认为对监测任务“安全”的机器人手臂运动的最大速度。结果发现，安全速度的选择取决于机器人的大小以及机器人开始运行的速度。大型和小型机器人的安全速度分别为小于51厘米/秒和63厘米/秒，即当工人在靠近机器人并监测其动作时，这些速度不会让工人感到不安或受到威胁。实验2调查了产业工人将其视为系统故障以及“可安全接近”状态指示的机器人闲置时间（不活动）的最小值。结果发现，工人认为小型和大型机器人的闲置时间分别为41秒和28秒或更短是系统故障的结果。约20%的工人在判定机器人因系统故障而停止前等待的时间仅为10秒或更短。闲置时间受到受试者先前接触模拟机器人事故的影响。文中讨论了对结果的进一步解读以及对机器人系统操作限制的建议。
