Alongside Industry 4.0, human-robot collaboration (HRC ) is a real hot topic in the industrial sector right now and is gaining more and more media attention with no signs of slowing down. This hype awakens dreams: Protective fences can be removed, efficiency and ergonomics can be improved significantly, and humans are now working hand in hand with their robotic counterparts. In these visions, applications and optimization potentials are usually identified quickly and it seems only a matter of time before these HRC applications are scaled across multiple industrial applications. Nevertheless, it often does not take long for most of the people involved to become disillusioned.
This white paper from SICK is intended to highlight the reasons for this disillusionment and demonstrate how HRC can succeed with innovative approaches. It is aimed specifically at integrators and end users helping them to implement the methodology and integrate the system described in this white paper.