A REAL-TIME SAFETY AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM WAS DEVELOPED FOR INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS. THE TEST ROBOT WAS ABLE TO AVOID COLLISIONS WITH INTRUDERS THAT APPROACHED IT FROM ANY DIRECTION AND IN ANY PROXIMITY RELATIVE TO THE ROBOT'S ARM. THE SYSTEM WAS SHOWN TO OPERATE IN REAL-TIME WITH THE ROBOT ABLE TO EVENTUALLLY COMPLETE ALL TAUGHT TASKS. THE TIME BETWEEN INTRUDER RECOGNITION AND COLLISION AVOIDING CORRECTIVE ACTION WAS FASTER THAN ANY OTHER SYSTEM OF ITS KIND. THE OVERALL SYSTEM WAS DESIGNED FOR SIMPLICITY AND MODULARITY, THEREBY MAKING THE SYSTEM APPLICABLE TO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROBOTS.