Pilz has been demonstrating its new Safetyeye safe camera-based system for three-dimensional zone monitoring, which the company developed in conjunction with Daimlerchrysler.
Where today's applications still require a multitude of sensors, Safetyeye places a customised, three-dimensional protective cocoon around the danger zone.
Detection zones can be configured flexibly and quickly on the PC. Safetyeye can protect, control and monitor with just one system.
Users in the safety sector benefit from increased flexibility and productivity, while the security sector benefits from uninterrupted object monitoring and access guarding.
Safetyeye is much more than just a sensor; it is the basis for a technology that safely detects objects in a three-dimensional zone. Renate Pilz, Pilz's managing partner, explains the benefits: Soonce morewe can present an innovation that helps users to increase productivity and reduce costs."
The system is suitable for a wide range of industries: from machining centres to the tyre and packaging industrythrough to high-bay racking systems and automatic car parks.
Current safety-related solutions have their limitsand this becomes clear when you look at the example of a robot workstation comprising one or more robots and protected by safety fences.
The robots generally require additional protective devices such as light grids and laser scanners in conjunction with an area limit switch. If someone enters or remains in the danger zonethese devices will detect it. Howevercurrent safety-related systems have some significant disadvantages. Optoelectronic protective devices are unable to monitor zones - at bestthey monitor planes. If there is no visual contact then the workstation must also be protected using pressure sensitive mats. So uninterrupted monitoring of a robot's operating range is only possible with a great deal of technical investmentif at all.
Another factor is that standard protective devices immediately stop the robot in the case of danger. The robot must be returned to its exact position prior to the stop in order to restart. This costs time and also impacts on subsequent workstations in the production line. And there is a third aspect too: the large number of different components and the complex wiring they involve not only makes it expensive to safeguard a robot workstationbut it also has a negative impact on its availability.
The overall system is made up of three components: the sensing devicea high-performance computer and a programmable safety and control system. The sensing device consists of three highly dynamic cameras and provides the image data from the zone that is being monitored.
A high-performance computer operates as the analysis unitreceiving the camera's image data via fibre-optic cables and working out a three-dimensional image using highly complex and safe algorithms. This way it is possible to observe objects three-dimensionally and to define their position exactly. This information is then superimposed with the detection zones configured within the system to determine whether there has been a detection zone violationfor example. The high-performance computer passes the image processing results to the PSS programmable safety and control system; with its inputs and outputsthe PSS is the interface to the machine controller and controls the whole Safetyeye operation. If the analysis unit signals that the detection zone has been violatedthe configurable outputs are shut down. Connection to the periphery can also be via the Safetybus p safe bus system; in future this will also be possible via the Safetynet p Ethernet. The detection zones and warning zonesas well as all the other parameters required to operate the safe camera systemcan be set up using the configuration PC and a special software package.
For more informationvisit www.pilz.com
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