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With the growing demand for robots in the industrial field, robot-related technologies with various functions have been introduced. One notable development is the implementation of robots that operate in collaboration with human workers to share tasks, without the need of any physical barriers such as safety fences. The realization of such collaborative operations in practice necessitates the assurance of safety if humans and robots collide. Thus, it is important to establish criteria for such collision scenarios to ensure robot safety and prevent injuries. Collision safety must be ensured in both pinching (quasi-static contact) and impact (transient contact) situations. To this end, we measured the force pain thresholds associated with impacts and evaluated the biomechanical limitations. This measurements were obtained through clinical trials involving physical collisions between human subjects and a device designed for generating impacts, and the force pain thresholds associated with transient collisions between humans and robots were analyzed. Specifically, the force pain threshold was measured at two different locations on the bodies of 37 adults aged 19-32 years, using two impactors with different shapes. The force pain threshold was compared with the results of other relevant studies. The results can help identify biomechanical limitations in a precise and reliable manner to ensure the safety of robots in collaborative applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With respect to alternative devices like traditional wheelchairs, handbikes can offer advantages from biomechanical and physiological perspectives, to several kinds of users. Assuring high mechanical efficiency and homogeneous force distributions along cycles, and being suitable for indoor and outdoor activities, these systems are used for rehabilitation, sports, and daily applications. From a technical perspective, their main characteristics can vary with the device final purpose and operational context. This review aims to provide an overall outline of handbikes in the literature from a general and comprehensive point of view, up until 2022. The analysis is performed (i) with a systematic approach, without a priori limitations on document type and content focus, and (ii) to identify the areas of interest for the scientific development of these systems. A systematic evaluation method for the identification and analysis of the documents was designed and implemented and the selection criteria, as well as the rationale for the procedure, are described. A specific taxonomy was defined and applied for the subsequent analysis, and each category is specifically evaluated and described, detailing the main outcomes of the literature analysis and relative discussion. Particular attention is paid to actuation strategies and propulsion efficiency. Finally, the main results of the work and future developments for handbikes are briefly synthesized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring the safety of physical human–robot interaction (pHRI) is of utmost importance for industries and organisations seeking to incorporate robots into their workspaces. To address this concern, the ISO/TS 15066:2016 outlines hazard analysis and preventive measures for ensuring safety in Human–Robot Collaboration (HRC). To analyse human–robot contact, it is common practice to separately evaluate the "transient" and "quasi-static" contact phases. Accurately measuring transient forces during close human–robot collaboration requires so-called "biofidelic" sensors that closely mimic human tissue properties, featuring adequate bandwidth and balanced damping. The dynamics of physical human–robot interactions using biofidelic measuring devices are being explored in this research. In this paper, one biofidelic sensor is tested to analyse its dynamic characteristics and identify the main factors influencing its performance and its practical applications for testing. To this aim, sensor parameters, such as natural frequency and damping coefficient, are estimated by utilising a custom physical pendulum setup to impact the sensor. Mathematical models developed to characterise the sensor system and pendulum dynamics are also disclosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]