Riding an ABB IRB 6600 Robot 1

Back in the summer of 2006, we were using an ABB IRB 6600 robot (225 kg payload) for a project. In between the time that we took delivery of the robot, and the time that we finished the tooling for the robot, we purchased a racing seat and 5-point harness. Our welder fabricated a seat mount and adapter plate to the robot’s J6 flange. Over the course of the next few evenings, we made various programs for the manipulator, swinging the seat wildly around and taking turns going for rides. One of the highlights of my career! Please don’t try this in your own shop - the safety risk in doing something like this is obviously quite high, even with the soft and hard limits of the robot adjusted for maximum protection. Industrial robots are simply not suited for interaction like this with people! Only one company has produced such a robot - KUKA - and it’s only through heavy modifications that the German technical safety authority (TUV) has certified it for carrying passengers.