Feature

Navigating upcoming changes to cobot safety regulations

Known for their ability to share the same workspace as human employees, collaborative robots (or cobots) are now a mainstay of the industrial robotics sector. Lightweight, simple to program and flexible enough to be moved around a factory with ease, unsurprisingly they have proved popular with manufacturers.

03/12/2024 10:31:10

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The most recent IFR statistics show that cobot installations worldwide grew by 31 percent year-on-year in 2022 to 54,868 units, representing 10 percent of total robot installations.

By their very nature of being collaborative with humans, cobots are also considered a safer option than traditional industrial robots. Until now, cobots have fallen under the technical specification ISO/TS 15066, which has left some users falling short of meeting their safety obligations.

A recent project by the ISO Working Group has seen the robot safety standards ISO 10218-1 and ISO 10218-2 updated to take account of the technological changes and advancements in collaborative robots. The British Standards Institute (BSI) recently reviewed the changes to the standards ahead of them being released at the end of this year.

What will this change mean for cobot users and integrators? Matt Androsiuk of Cobots and Machinery Safety (FANUC UK’s cobot safety partner) is an experienced machinery safety consultant and cobot safety specialist, who also sits on the BSI Robot Technical Committee. Here, Androsiuk outlines how to navigate the new safety landscape and get ahead of the proposed changes, to ensure your applications remain compliant…

Read the full article in DPA's December 2024 issue

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.