At the service of robot safety - Pilz at Automatica 2014

Pilz GmbH & Co. KG: At the 2014 Automatica exhibition, the complete safe automation supplier, Pilz, was showing services, products and systems for safe robot applications. In addition to the solutions already available, Pilz will be working with the Fraunhofer IFF to show how tactile sensors will soon be used to guarantee the safety of operators.

"The efficiency of robot applications increases, the closer man and machine work together. At the same time, this places greater demands on safety. Each application requires a separate safety-related assessment", explains Thomas Pilz, Managing Partner of Pilz GmbH & Co. KG. To verify the required safety level, the entire safety function from the sensor to the logic and beyond to the actuator must be considered. All these factors must also interact in a coordinated manner in order to guarantee the safety of a robot application.

Pilz's focus at Automatica 2014 (03.-06.06.2014, Munich) will be its range of services for robot safety: The company supports users with a services portfolio that is tailored to the individual life phases of a robot system: from process analysis to risk assessment and CE marking. A specific training package on robot safety completes the range of services.

In Munich Pilz will be presenting components and systems that can be used to implement safe man-robot applications. These include safe control systems and safe sensor technology, such as the 3D camera system SafetyEYE, which enables work areas in which man and machine collaborate to be monitored safely, without using guards.

The automation company will also be demonstrating new ways in which man and robot can work together safely in even greater proximity in future. For the first time, in Munich Pilz will present information about its research cooperation with Fraunhofer IFF from Magdeburg. This cooperation will focus on research into tactile sensor systems, for safe collision detection on service robots. At Automatica Pilz will be presenting a first prototype from the project, designed for industrial use.