Symbiotic Safety: Safe and Efficient Human-Machine Collaboration by utilizing Rules
Tasuku Ishigookaa, Hiroyuki Yamadab, Satoshi Otsukac, Nobuyasu Kanekawad and Junya Takahashie
Center for Technology Innovation - Controls and Robotics Hitachi, Ltd. Ibaraki, Japan
atasuku.ishigoka.kc@hitachi.com
bhiroyuki.yamada.qt@hitachi.com
csatoshi.otsuka.hk@hitachi.com
dnobuyasu.kanekawa.ef@hitachi.com
ejunya.takahashi.kd@hitachi.com
ABSTRACT
Collaborative work between workers and au-tonomous systems in the same area is required to improve operation efficiency. However, there exist collision risks caused by coexistence of workers and autonomous systems. The safety functions of the autonomous systems, such as emergency stops, can reduce the risks and but may decrease the operation efficiency. Therefore, we propose a novel safety concept called Symbiotic Safety. The concept improves both safety and operation efficiency by transformation of action plan, e.g., adjustment of action plan or update of safety rule, which reduces frequency of risk occurrence and suppress efficiency loss due to safety functions. In this paper, we explain the symbiotic safety technologies and share results of an evaluation experiment by utilizing our prototype system.
Keywords: Human-Machine Collaboration, Symbiotic Safety, Collaborative Safety, Safety-Critical Systems.
