Towards mobile manipulator safety standards

We present an overview of the current (as of Spring, 2013) safety standards for industrial robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). We also describe how they relate to the safety concerns of mobile manipulators (robot arms mounted on mobile bases) in modern manufacturing. Provisions for the capabilities of mobile manipulators are provided in relationship to the current standards. Several scenarios are presented for which the behavior of a mobile manipulator may be unpredictable or otherwise contrary to the current safety requirements. We also discuss the needs for a new class of test artifacts for verifying and validating the functionality of mobile manipulator safety systems in collaborative working environments.