Method and system for automatically securing the operation of a robot system controlled by a mobile operating device

1 . A method for automatically securing an operation of a robot system, wherein the operation is controlled by a mobile operating device, the method comprising:

periodically receiving presence signals by the robot system via a short-range first signal connection, the signals being transmitted to the robot system by the mobile operating device configured for operation of the robot system;

transmitting a configuration signal derived from the result of a presence check to the operating device for requesting a configuration of a user interface of the operating device, the user interface being provided for operating the robot system on the basis of the result of the presence check;

receiving an operating signal transmitted to the robot system by the operating device via a second signal connection designed to be independent of the first signal connection, the operating signal containing a control command that can be executed to operate a robot of the robot system;

subjecting each operating signal to a safety check that is independent from the presence check, and determining whether the control command is safety-relevant with respect to physical safety of persons or objects in the vicinity of the robot according to a specified safety criterion for the robot system; and

releasing a safety-relevant control command for execution by the robot system only when the presence check has ascertained that the last received presence signal satisfies a presence criterion which is specified with respect to the determination of a spatial proximity of the operating device to the robot system.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the safety-relevant control command is a movement command for the robot system.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first signal connection is designed as a short-range radio connection, in particular based on WPAN radio technology.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration signal is designed to request a configuration of the user interface such that operating options available for a user are defined on the user interface for the robot system on the basis of the result of the presence check.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein, in response to the presence criterion not being satisfied according to the result of the presence check, the configuration signal is configured to request a configuration of the user interface such that the operating options available for a user on the user interface for the robot system are restricted so that no transmission of safety-relevant control commands to the robot system can be triggered by the user interface.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein, in response to the presence criterion not being satisfied according to the result of the presence check, the configuration signal is configured to request a configuration of the user interface such that the operating options available for a user on the user interface for the robot system are restricted so that only non-safety-relevant control commands to the robot system can be triggered by the user interface.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the presence criterion is defined on the basis of at least one of:

a signal strength of a presence signal received at the robot system;

a measure for the possible occurrence of transmission errors in the presence signal received at the robot system;

an elapsed period of time since a last reception of a presence signal;

any change in an identification code of a radio access point or a routing for a radio connection of the operating device via the first signal connection, via the second signal connection, or via both signal connections, which change has taken place since the last reception of a presence signal, according to the corresponding information contained in the received operating signal; or

a distance value determined by a radio-based triangulation.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting a coding contained in a received presence signal, operating signal, or both;

checking whether the detected coding matches a reference coding associated with the robot system, and whether the received presence signal, operating signal, or both is directed to the robot system; and

blocking a release of the control command contained in the received operating signal, according to the detected coding, in response to the received presence signal, operating signal, or both not being directed to the robot system.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein, in a pairing process, the method further comprises:

defining the reference coding associated with the robot system prior to detecting, and transmitting the reference coding to the operating device; or

receiving at the robot system the reference coding associated with the robot system from the operating device prior to checking.

10 . A device for securing the operation of a robot system, wherein operation of the robot system is controlled by a mobile operating device, the device designed to execute the method according to claim 1 .

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the device is configured as a robot controller.

12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the first signal connection is designed as a short-range radio connection, in particular based on WPAN radio technology.

13 . A method for operating a robot system with a mobile operating device that is provided for operating the robot system, the method comprising:

periodically transmitting from the operating device a presence signal directed to the robot system via a short-range first signal connection;

after transmitting the presence signal, receiving a configuration signal from the robot system, wherein the configuration signal includes information associated with a configuration request for the configuration of a user interface of the operating device;

configuring the user interface on the basis of the configuration request; and

transmitting an operating signal directed to the robot system via a second signal connection formed independently of the first signal connection, in response to an associated input at the user interface configured in accordance with the configuration signal;

wherein the operating signal includes at least one control command selected from a plurality of control commands that operate a robot of the robot system;

determining whether the control command is safety-relevant according to a specified safety criterion for the robot system;

wherein configuring the user interface comprises restricting access to at least one of the plurality of control commands for transmission to the robot system to which the user interface is in communication via the operating signal by blocking at least one safety-relevant control command for operating the robot from being activated by a user, while non-safety-relevant control commands for operating the robot are not blocked and;

wherein safety-relevant control commands are control commands that, when executed, potentially affect physical safety of persons or objects in the vicinity of a robot.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

providing the presence signal, the operating signal, or both with a reference coding associated with the robot system, wherein the reference coding identifies that the corresponding signal is directed to the robot system.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein, in a pairing process, the method further comprises:

receiving at the operating device the reference coding associated with the robot system from the robot system; or

generating and transmitting, by the operating device, the reference coding associated with the robot system prior to transmitting the presence signal.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein configuring the user interface comprises:

configuring the user interface such that operating options available for a user on the user interface are restricted so that the transmission of safety-relevant control commands to the robot system cannot be triggered by the user interface.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first signal connection is designed as a short-range radio connection, in particular based on WPAN radio technology.

18 . A robot system including a robot, and a mobile operating device for securing an operation of the robot system, wherein:

the robot system is configured to determine whether a control command is safety-relevant with respect to physical safety of persons or objects in the vicinity of the robot according to a specified safety criterion for the robot system; and

periodically transmit from the operating device a presence signal directed to the robot system via a short-range first signal connection,

after transmitting the presence signal, receive a configuration signal from the robot system, wherein the configuration signal includes information associated with a configuration request for the configuration of a user interface of the operating device,

configure the user interface on the basis of the configuration request; and

transmit an operating signal directed to the robot system via a second signal connection formed independently of the first signal connection, in response to an associated input at the user interface configured in accordance with the configuration signal;

wherein, in response to the presence signal resulting in a determination that a presence criterion is not met, the user interface is configured such that operating options available for a user on the user interface are restricted so that only control commands to the robot system that are not safety-relevant control commands can be triggered by the user interface;

wherein safety-relevant control commands are control commands that, when executed, potentially affect physical safety of persons or objects in the vicinity of the robot.

19 . The mobile operating device of claim 18 , wherein the mobile operating device is configured as a hand-held mobile multipurpose computer.