Robot control method

1. A method for controlling a robot, comprising the steps of:

deciding whether there is a non-permanent object in a vicinity of the robot;

if there is a non-permanent object, deciding whether the object qualifies for extended protection or not;

defining a safety zone around the object which the robot must not enter or in which a maximum allowed speed of the robot is less than outside the safety zone, and

controlling the robot based on the safety zone,

wherein the safety zone extends to a greater distance from the object if the object qualifies for extended protection than if it does not,

wherein, if a second object has been judged not to qualify for extended protection, re-judging the second object to be qualified for extended protection if the distance between the second object and the object that qualifies for extended protection becomes less than a predetermined limit, wherein the second object is an inanimate object.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein when a third object is detected to enter the vicinity of the robot, the third object is judged to qualify for extended protection.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vicinity comprises a workpiece entry point and a third object which enters the vicinity by the workpiece entry point is judged not to qualify for extended protection.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the distance between the second object and the object that qualifies for extended protection increases again without having become less than a pre-set threshold, which may be defined as zero or as close to zero, the second object is again judged not to qualify for extended protection.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein if two objects come close enough to each other to become undistinguishable and at least one of the objects has been judged to qualify for extended protection, a resulting object is judged to also qualify for extended protection.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein if a qualifying object splits into two or more objects, each resulting object is also judged to qualify for extended protection.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein an object is judged not to qualify for extended protection if at least one of the following criteria is met:

no motion of the object is detected within a predetermined time span;

at least one detectable physical property of the object comprising at least size, shape, weight, or surface temperature is incompatible with a human being;

the object is equipped with a tag, and data read from the tag fit detectable physical properties of the object;

the object is declared not to qualify for extended protection by an operator.

8. A robot system, comprising:

a robot;

at least one sensor configured to surveil a vicinity of the robot; and

a processor unit configured to control the robot based on data from the at least one sensor using the method of claim 1 .

9. A non-transitory computer program product, comprising:

program code configured to enable a computer to perform the method according to claim 1 .