As the use of mobile robots continues to grow in industrial settings, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) in Ann Arbor has unveiled the second installment of its flagship safety standard for industrial mobile robots, providing guidance on safe integration practices for these systems.
Called “15.08-2, the American National Standard for Industrial Mobile Robots (IMRs) — Safety Requirements — Part 2: Requirements for IMR system(s) and IMR application(s),” the program provides safety requirements for deploying IMR systems into an industrial environment. R15.08-2 specifies the requirements for integrating, configuring, and customizing an IMR or fleet of IMRs into a site.
The new standard — accredited by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) — can be purchased online.
“With the rapid development of mobile robot capabilities, it’s more important than ever for the safety of human workers to have common safety requirements and expectations for IMR systems and system integrations,” says Carole Franklin, director of robotic standards development at A3. “The R15.08 Part 2 is much-needed guidance toward ensuring safe integration practices for IMRs and will be a solid foundation for future work in this area.”
With IMRs becoming increasingly prevalent in industrial settings, A3 first established common safety requirements to guide IMR manufacturers, with R15.08 Part 1 (ANSI/RIA R15.08-1 2020) published in late 2020. R15.08-2 now follows with requirements for system integrators.
Until now, mobile robot system integrators had only general safety requirements for industrial machinery. R15.08-2 was developed to provide a common set of requirements for IMRs, also while being flexible enough to permit companies to develop their own unique solutions.
“A paradigm shift has occurred in recent years with the continued advancement of mobile robots in the workplace, and this shift demanded safety requirements beyond what is offered in other robot safety standards,” says Franklin. “With Part 2 of the R15.08 standard, system integrators now have specific requirements that will help them ensure they’re deploying the safest mobile robot systems available in their customers’ facilities.”
With the publication of the R15.08-2 complete, A3’s R15.08 committee’s next goal is to develop R15.08 Part 3, which is being created to provide safety requirements for users of IMR systems and IMR applications. The R15.08 committee is also considering developing technical reports to address emerging topics such as mobile robot technology advances. Such topics will likely include multi-sensor fusion, additional stability testing, stability validation, and additional dynamic stability testing.
To learn more and purchase the standard documents, click here.
