Emerging research fields in safety and ergonomics in industrial collaborative robotics: A systematic literature review

TLDR

Human–robot collaboration, a core Industry 4.0 technology reshaping manufacturing floors, relies on collaborative robots that combine human abilities with smart machines, and its implementation hinges on occupational health and safety criteria while emerging research fields beyond the current state of the art are of special interest. The study aims to assess the state of the art for designing safe and ergonomic collaborative robotic workcells. The authors conduct a systematic literature review of recent technical scientific bibliography to identify current and future research fields. The review identified and categorized main research themes on safety and ergonomics for industrial collaborative robotics, and analyzed emerging research challenges and fields based on publication growth over time.

Abstract

Human–robot collaboration is a main technology of Industry 4.0 and is currently changing the shop floor of manufacturing companies. Collaborative robots are innovative industrial technologies introduced to help operators to perform manual activities in so called cyber-physical production systems and combine human inimitable abilities with smart machines strengths. Occupational health and safety criteria are of crucial importance in the implementation of collaborative robotics. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the state of the art for the design of safe and ergonomic collaborative robotic workcells. Emerging research fields beyond the state of the art are also of special interest. To achieve this goal this paper uses a systematic literature review methodology to review recent technical scientific bibliography and to identify current and future research fields. Main research themes addressed in the recent scientific literature regarding safety and ergonomics (or human factors) for industrial collaborative robotics were identified and categorized. The emerging research challenges and research fields were identified and analyzed based on the development of publications over time (annual growth).