Safety issues in modern applications of robots

Most industrial robots have the capability of inflicting serious injuries to anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with them when they are working at normal speeds. During programming and maintenance, for example, it may be necessary for work to be done in close proximity with the robot with power available to its actuators. From January 1995 machines not undergoing the appropriate EC conformity assessment and not declared to comply with the essential health and safety requirements of the Council Directive of 14 June 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to machinery may not be marketed in the European Community. This Directive is commonly known as the Machinery Directive: it is enacted in UK Law by The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992. The directive requires a machine´s manufacturer, or the manufacturer´s representative in the European community to ensure and guarantee that certain technical documentation, including a technical construction file, is and will remain on his premises for any inspection purposes. It is intended that this documentation demonstrate how the essential safety requirements have been met. As machinery becomes more complex it will become more difficult to demonstrate that it is, indeed, safe. This paper outlines requirements of the machinery directive, discusses potential difficulties in validating the safety of computer controlled machinery and introduces strategies for designing safe systems