Development of a Combination Device of Vibration Tactile Device and Tightening Device to Realize Human-Robot Handover Operation

Abstract

With the ever-increasing spread of collaborative robotics, humans and robots working side by side in the workplace have become more common. When working on different subtasks of a bigger main task, the user and robot need only interact on a few occasions, like a handover, instead of being in constant contact. Interacting with the robot becomes a secondary focus for the human and should not distract from the main task. To free the human from having to keep their attention on the robot while ensuring an efficient handover, the use of physical stimuli is suggested. These signals allow the user to understand the robot's state while keeping their other senses free. In this research, we aim to combine two devices: one capable of informing the user about the handover position through vibrations and the other using tightening signals to inform about the state of the gripper. Through this combination, we expect an increase in handover efficiency and better human concentration on the main task. Experiments are performed to compare the completion of a handover task with and without the device.