Projection system to improve human-robot coordination

Developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, the new system employs conventional projectors and cameras normally mounted on the ceiling. One of its distinctive features is the projection of monitored safe zones directly onto a floor or wall.

Projected beams produce visible lines in the work area. Thus, humans recognize the safe zone right away and know how close they may get to a robot, according to a Fraunhofer statement.

“The projector and camera are calibrated and synchronized to one another,” says Norbert Elkmann, Robotic Systems Business Unit Manager at Fraunhofer.

When a larger area needs to be monitored, the system can be extended as desired by additional projectors and cameras.
Elkmann and his team have filed a patent for their system, which is not merely limited to safe human-robot interaction.

Other spaces in which safety is relevant like public buildings, can be monitored. The system can also be used wherever safe zones ought not to be perceptible - by projecting invisible light.