Control Design for Safe Human-Robot Collaboration based on ISO/TS 15066 with Power and Force Limit

In collaborative robot systems, ensuring operator safety is crucial. This responsibility falls on robot integrators who must identify potential risks and design safety measures to prevent unwanted accidental contact with human operators. The ISO/TS 15066 guideline’s Power and Force Limiting mode is instrumental in managing such incidents. This study explored the effectiveness of two control strategies, Sliding Mode Control and Computational Torque Control, within the framework of a six degrees of freedom robot manipulator, considering the design requirements of the power and force limiting mode. Simulation results showed that in the presence of external disturbances, Sliding Mode Controller outperformed in terms of response time, stability, and position tracking, making it more suitable for safety-focused applications in shared workspaces.