A safety laser scanner for use in outdoor applications is now available. The scanner allows automated guided vehicle systems to navigate through outdoor industrial environments.
Safety laser scanners enable humans and machines to work together safely in industrial environments by protecting stationary and mobile applications. New safety sensor technology can now be used outside of production facilities, increasing the potential for automating intra-logistics production processes.
SICK Automation’s outdoorScan3 is the first safety laser scanner certified to IEC 62998 for use in outdoor applications, allowing for exposure to weather conditions such as sunlight, rain, snow and fog.
The company’s safeHDDM scanning technology is used to enable the laser scanner to work when exposed to sunlight with an illumination intensity of up to 40 000 lux. The software algorithm detects rain and snow, and is able to filter out rain up to a precipitation intensity of 10 mm/h. The scanner is also able to detect obstacles in fog with a meteorological visual range of up to 50 m, which is the range at which aircraft are grounded.
Automated Processes Outdoors
Automated guided vehicle systems facilitate material flow but can currently only be used in a working environment shared by humans and machines. The new outdoor scanner will allow automated guided vehicle systems to perform tasks outdoors, with no physical partitions and without having to significantly lower their speed.
Range of Applications
The scanner is already being used in a number of applications, including passenger boarding-bridges and to protect and navigate automated guided vehicle systems.
The outdoorScan3 is now available worldwide.