From Safety Standards to Safe Operation with Mobile Robotic Systems Deployment

Abstract: Mobile robotic systems are increasingly used in various work environments to support productivity. However, deploying robots in workplaces crowded by human workers and interacting with them results in safety challenges and concerns, namely robot-worker collisions and worker distractions in hazardous environments. Moreover, the literature on risk assessment as well as the standard specific to mobile platforms is rather limited. In this context, this paper first conducts a review of the relevant standards and methodologies and then proposes a risk assessment for the safe deployment of mobile robots on construction sites. The approach extends relevant existing safety standards to encompass uncovered scenarios. Safety recommendations are made based on the framework, after its validation by field experts.