The CSI:Cobot project, a collaboration between the University of Sheffield and the University of York, passed its final review in July.
The project addressed key challenges relating to the safety and security assurance of collaborative robots - both identified by industrial partners as critical barrier to their adoption. Working on industrial case studies, the team undertook research in machine vision, cyber security, safety controller synthesis, and hazard analysis. Digital twins were developed to support the research, while physical facilities were inaccessible during Covid lockdowns, enabling the team to collaborate remotely and quickly deploy methods on physical systems when they became available. The team also worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive, the regulator for industrial robot safety, and identified new opportunities for the use of digital twins in safety assurance.
