Robots are increasingly being used in industry to perform various types of tasks. Some of the tasks performed by robots in industry are spot welding, materials handling, arc welding, and routing. The population of robots is growing at a significant rate in various parts of the world; for example, in 1984, a report published by the British Robot Association indicated a robot popula tion distribution between Japan (64,600), Western Europe (20,500), and the United States (13,000). This shows a significant number of robots in use. Data available for West Germany and the United Kingdom indicate that in 1977 there were 541 and 80 robots in use, respectively, and in 1984 these numbers went up to 6600 and 2623, respectively. Just as for other engineering products, the reliability and safety of robots are important. A robot has to be safe and reliable. An unreliable robot may become the cause of unsafe conditions, high maintenance costs, inconvenience, etc. Robots make use of electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, electronic, and hydraulic parts. This makes their reliability problem a challenging task because of the many different sources of failures. According to some published literature, the best mean time between failures (MTBF) achieved by robots is only 2500 hours. This means there is definite room for further improvement in robot reliability. With respect to safety, there have been five fatal accidents involving robots since 1978.

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Inhaltsangabe1 Introduction.- 1.1. History of Robots.- 1.2. Brief History of Robot Reliability and Safety.- 1.3. Terms and Definitions.- 1.4. Scope of the Book.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 2 Introduction to Reliability and Safety.- 2.1. Introduction.- 2.2. Reliability and Safety-Related Terms and Definitions.- 2.3. Organizations Concerned with Reliability or Safety, or Both.- 2.4. Reliability and Safety Periodicals and Conferences.- 2.5. Reliability and Safety-Related Data Sources.- 2.6. Selective Texts on Reliability and Safety.- 2.7. Reliability.- 2.8. Safety.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 3 Introduction to Robotics.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. Some Attributes of Robots Available Commercially, Major Users of Industrial Robots in Japan, and the United States' Robot Estimates by Application.- 3.3. Robotics Research and Robot Application Areas.- 3.4. Advantages of and Motivations for Using Robots, and Arguments Against Robots.- 3.5. Comparisons of Humans with Machines, Generations of Robots, and Robot Qualities Being Sought by Roboticists.- 3.6. Areas of Commonly Asked Questions by Potential Robot Users, Factors for Using Robots Instead of Humans, and Rules and Procedures for Introducing Robots.- 3.7. Robot Classifications, Production Robots, and Robot Structure Categories.- 3.8. Robot Mechanical Design Decisions and Useful Guidelines, and Important Physical and Operational Characteristics Vital for Robot Selection and Design.- 3.9. Robot Public Relation Guidelines.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 4 Robot Accidents.- 4.1. Introduction.- 4.2. Real-Life Examples of Robot Accidents.- 4.3. Robot Accidents in Japan, Western Europe, and the United States.- 4.4. Causes and Characteristics of Robot Accidents.- 4.5. Effects of Robot Accidents and Periods Off Work Due to Robot Accidents.- 4.6. Robot Accidents at Manufacturer and User Sites.- 4.7. Robot Accident Analysis and Prevention.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 5 Fundamentals of Robot Safety.- 5.1. Introduction.- 5.2. Robotic Safety Problems and Hazards, and the Use of Robots to Promote Safety.- 5.3. Weak Points in Planning and Design, and Operations Causing Safety Problems.- 5.4. The Manufacturer's and User's Role in Robot Safety.- 5.5. Safety Considerations in Robot Design, Installation, Programming, and Operation and Maintenance.- 5.6. Robot Safeguard Methods.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 6 Topics in Robot Safety.- 6.1. Introduction.- 6.2. Robot Safety Education.- 6.3. Safety Considerations in Robot Testing and Start-Up, Commissioning, and Acceptance.- 6.4. Safety Considerations in Robot Welding Operations.- 6.5. Robot Safety in the Automobile Industry.- 6.6. Stopping Grippers of Industrial Robots Not Dropping/Throwing Work Items When Experiencing Energy Loss or Not Gripping on the Return of Energy.- 6.7. Robot Standardization and Safety Standards.- 6.8. Robot Safety Research.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 7 Human Factors in Robotics.- 7.1. Introduction.- 7.2. Robots Versus Humans.- 7.3. Human Factors' Issues During the Factory Integration of Robotic Systems.- 7.4. Built-in Human Biases and Some Design Improvement Guidelines for Improving Robot Operator Comfort and Productivity.- 7.5. Benefits and Drawbacks of Robotization from the Standpoint of Human Factors and Rules of Robotics with Respect to Humans.- 7.6. Humans at Risk from Robots and Guidelines for Safeguarding the Operator and the Teacher.- 7.7. Human Factors' Considerations to Robotic Safety.- 7.8. Training for Reducing Human Error in Robotics and Human Error Data in Robotics.- 7.9. Reliability Analysis of a Robot System with Human Error.- Summary.- Problems.- References.- 8 Robot Reliability.- 8.1. Introduction.- 8.2. Robot-Related Failure Terms, Robot Failures, and Literature on Robot Reliability.- 8.3. General Categories of Robot Failure and Their Protection.- 8.4. Types of Robot Halts and Warm Restarts.- 8.5. Robot Effectiveness and Hazard Detectors Fail-Safe Design.- 8.6. Robot Reliability Surveys and