Planning operations to avoid collisions for simultaneous multi-robot work areas. (Potentially an in-depth walkthrough?) Manual methods of mitigating collisions for multi-robot simultaneous. Procedure on how to rearrange and change path directions to avoid multi-robot collisions.
A dome shaped part requires edge following operations on five contours.
These operations will be distributed between two separate robots and processed simultaneously.
In some cases, the default robot trajectories for the multiple robots may result in collisions between the robots.
Move start point
Operations 1 and 3 are processed by different robots, and there is a collision between the joints of the robots.
The proximity of the entry/exit points and timing of the operations causes a collision.
One way to solve this collision is to move the entry/exit point on one of the profiles further away.
In the Device tab, in the Operations pane, right-click an operation and select Edit in task.
Select the path, then click the red ball at the entry/exit point.
Click a point along the path to move the entry/exit to a different location.
In the Task tab, select Apply and then OK to keep your changes.
In the Device tab, select Calculate.
Confirm that the collision no longer occurs.
Change path direction
For applications where it is possible to change the direction in which a path is processed, you can try changing path direction to solve collisions.
In the Device tab, in the Operations pane, right-click an operation and select Edit in task.
Right-click the path (be sure to right-click one of the vectors on the path), then select Path > Invert direction.
Confirm that the path direction is reversed.
In the Task tab, select Apply and then OK to keep your changes.
In the Device tab, select Calculate.
Confirm that the collision no longer occurs.
Click a different location to move the entry/exit point.
Rearrange operations
Another method of solving collisions is to plan and reassign certain operations to different robots. This can be done by either changing the order in which operations are sequenced for a given robot and/or reassigning operations to different robots.
Change the sequence of operations for one of the robots.
Notes:
Rearranging operations in the Device > Operations pane.
Change sequence of operations within a given robot
Move operations from one robot to another
Further reading
What about velocities, accelerations, and real-world deviation from programmed paths?
Use safety envelopes to give “buffer” for collisions, add them as intereference groups in the cell.
Do multiple robot cells communicate with one another? Are they equipped with sensors to detect adjacent robot position?
Spatial
If you plan a progam so that the robots never occupy the same space at any point in time, this is the safest with least chance of collision.
Temporal
If two robots must occupy the same space due to the required trajectories, timing the operations is critical for minimizing risk of collisions.
How much time to leave between operations' intersections in space? 1 second, 30 seconds?
What is the typical difference between ideal vs actual speed due to acceleration, payload, and whatever else might factor in?