SICK safety laser scanners

What it is

SICK, founded by Erwin Sick in 1946 and headquartered in Waldkirch in the Black Forest, makes sensors for factory and logistics automation. Its safety laser scanners are devices that monitor areas around machines, robots and vehicles to protect people. SICK has worked on area scanners for hazardous zones since the 1970s; its history records the first area scanner in safety category 3 in 1993 and the compact S300 safety laser scanner in 2006.

How it works

A safety laser scanner emits short infrared laser pulses, deflected by a rotating mirror across a fan-shaped area. It measures the time each pulse takes to return after hitting an object, which gives the distance. Engineers define protective fields and warning fields in the software. If an object or person enters the warning field, the system can slow a machine; if the protective field is violated, the scanner sends a safe signal to stop it. The devices are certified to international functional safety standards.

Why it stands out

Safety laser scanners allow machines and people to share space without fixed fences. That is essential for flexible production and for automated guided vehicles and mobile robots, which need to detect obstacles and people in their path. The technology made a new generation of automation possible in which safety is built in electronically rather than through physical barriers. SICK has been one of the pioneers in this field, building on Erwin Sick's early work on light barriers for industrial safety.

Where you meet it

You meet safety laser scanners on factory floors, around robot cells, in warehouses on driverless transport vehicles and forklifts, and on automated parking and storage systems. They are usually small yellow or grey devices mounted near the floor that sweep the area with invisible laser light.