SICK partners with UR for cobot safety

SICK and Universal Robots (UR) have announced a safety solution for the safeguarding of accessible robotic applications.

When combined with a collaborative robot from Universal Robots, the sBot safety system and URCap from SICK are said to increase productivity and safety and can be configured directly from the UR teach pendant. With this partnership, SICK and UR have created a fast way to implement speed and separation monitoring for cooperative robot applications.

The sBot Stop – URCap and sBot Speed – URCap are said to be easy-to-use safety systems based on the smart combination of SICK’s nanoScan3 safety laser scanner and UR Robot safety features. These solutions are claimed to work well in handling operations using robot applications with free access and enable manufacturers to achieve safety without sacrificing productivity.

The nanoScan3 is a compact profile safety laser scanner with a space-saving design that suits mobile robotics applications, as well as in stationary applications where space is limited. It delivers high-precision measurement data and is resistant to light, dust or dirt. It also has a high level of flexibility with up to 128 freely configurable fields and monitoring cases.

The nanoScan3 Core safety laser scanner can be combined with the URe robot safety features via a provided configuration tool. This enables easy configuration directly via the UR teach pendant.

The safety laser scanner is constantly monitoring the ground level around the robot. A nanoScan3 Pro is able to monitor the area around the robot with two protective fields simultaneously, making it possible to dynamically reduce or stop the robot movement when a person is too close to the robot working area. As soon the person leaves the area, the robot recovers its operating speed and becomes productive again.

The sBot Stop – URCap safety system also provides users the ability to output a warning if a person gets close to the application and, if necessary, stop the robot.