Extendable safety system for robot system

A robot system comprising:

• a robotic arm comprising a plurality of joints connecting a base and a tool flange;
• a robot controller configured to control the robotic arm;
• a safety system configured to cause the robotic arm to enter a safe mode based on an evaluation performed on the safety system, the safety system comprising at least two independent safety controllers, the at least two independent safety controllers comprising a first safety controller and a second safety controller, the first safety controller being on different hardware than the second safety controller;
• wherein the robot controller and the safety system are on different hardware;
• wherein the robot controller is configured to perform operations comprising:
• receiving, via a user interface, at least one user-defined safety function, the at least one user-defined safety function comprising executable code for generating a value for at least one user-defined safety parameter;
• receiving at least one user-defined safety parameter range;
• providing the at least one user-defined safety parameter range to the safety system;
• generating the value for the at least one user-defined safety parameter by executing the at least one user-defined safety function;
• and
• providing the value for the at least one user-defined safety parameter to the safety system;
• wherein each of the first safety controller and the second safety controller comprises a safety function configured to perform an evaluation to determine if the value for the at least one user-defined safety parameter is within the at least one user-defined safety parameter range;
• and
• wherein the safety system is configured to cause the robotic arm to enter the safe mode when the value of the at least one user-defined safety parameter is determined to be outside the at least one user-defined safety parameter range.

A method for use with a robot system, where the robot system comprises:

• a robotic arm comprising a plurality of joints connecting a base and a tool flange;
• a robot controller configured to control the robotic arm;
• and
• a safety system configured to cause the robotic arm to enter a safe mode based on an evaluation performed on the safety system, the safety system comprising at least two independent safety controllers, the at least two independent safety controllers comprising a first safety controller and a second safety controller, the first safety controller being on different hardware than the second safety controller;
• wherein the robot controller and the safety system are on different hardware;
• and
• wherein the method comprises:
• receiving, via a user interface, at least one user-defined safety function, the at least one user-defined safety function comprising executable code for generating a value for at least one user-defined safety parameter;
• receiving at least one user-defined safety parameter range;
• providing the at least one user-defined safety parameter range to the safety system;
• generating the value for the at least one user-defined safety parameter by executing the at least one user-defined safety function using the robot controller;
• providing the value for the at least one user-defined safety parameter to the safety system;
• performing an evaluation using a safety function on the each of the first safety controller and the second safety controller to determine if the value for the at least one user-defined safety parameter is within the at least one user-defined safety range;
• and
• causing the robotic arm to enter the safe mode when the value of the at least one user-defined safety parameter is determined to be outside the at least one user-defined safety range.