A Step Forward in Human-Robot Collaboration – The Project CollRob

Human-robot collaboration is a novel, hot topic in the field of industrial and service robotics with considerable potential. It offers the possibility to combine human cognitive abilities with the strengths of robot technology in terms of precision and performance, thus opening up a wide range of possibilities beyond the traditional application of robots. The research project ”Collaborative Robotics” (CollRob) is an initiative focusing on the conceptualization, research, development, and evaluation of novel methods and tools for collaborative and cooperative robots. This article aims at giving an overview about this project in terms of its backgrounds, objectives, and the current status of research covering topics such as machine perception, sensitive redundant kinematic manipulation, dynamic adaptive planning, human-robot interaction and information exchange, human factors, and safety.