Method and device for controlling a robot during co-activity

A method for controlling an operation of a robot within a system comprising the robot and sensors to analyze a concentric environment of the robot, the sensors comprise a contact sensor, a proximity sensor and a vision and location sensor, the method comprises steps of:

• a) obtaining for each axis of the robot, a maximum allowable force value;
• b) stopping the robot in its position in response to a determination that a force on one of the axes of the robot is greater than the maximum allowable force value;
• c) obtaining a security space as a function of a speed of the robot;
• d) monitoring the concentric environment of the robot by the sensors;
• e) gradually reducing the speed of the robot to a safety speed in response to a detection of an intrusion of an intrusive object in the security space of the robot;
• and
• f) repeating steps a)-e);
• and
• wherein temporal position commands σ(t) of the robot are delivered by a robot controller as a function of a theoretical trajectory s(t) according to a temporal control interval Δt corresponding to a servo frequency 1/Δt, so that under nominal conditions of operation σ(t)=s(t);
• and wherein the speed reduction during step e) is achieved by introducing a virtual time so that σ(t+Δt)=s(t+k·Δt) where k≤1.