Dynamic work space surveillance for mobile robot assistants

Intelligent mobile robot assistants are important components for increasing flexibility in future production processes. These robot assistants must be able to work autonomously but must also have the capability to interactively learn from and cooperate with the human worker in a common (shared) work space. They may under no circumstances be a subject of danger to the human worker wherefore new methods for work space surveillance are called for. In this paper we present the current state of the DaimlerChrysler manufacturing Assistant and the safety concept for the dynamic sensor-based surveillance of its work space.