This paper aims to provide a clear and rigorous understanding of commonly recognized safety constraints in physical human-robot interaction, particularly regarding ISO/TS 15066. We investigate the derivation of these constraints, critically examine the underlying assumptions, and evaluate their practical implications for system-level safety and performance in industrially relevant scenarios. Key design parameters within safety-critical control architectures are identified, and numerical examples are provided to quantify performance degradation arising from typical approximations and design decisions in manufacturing environments. Within this analysis, the fundamental role of energy in safety assessment is emphasized, providing focused insights into energy-based safety methodologies for collaborative industrial robot systems.
@article{arxiv.2601.19462,
title = {Physical Human-Robot Interaction: A Critical Review of Safety Constraints},
author = {Riccardo Zanella and Federico Califano and Stefano Stramigioli},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.19462},
year = {2026}
}