Machines receive gift of sight

A futuristic "eye' developed by Pilz and DaimlerChrysler claims to allow people to work next to robots and other automated machines without physical safety barriers.

The two companies have worked closely together, with Pilz taking overall responsibility for system development and providing the expertise behind the safety functionality, industrial design and programming software. DaimlerChrysler developed the image processing algorithms, specified the practical requirements and supported the comprehensive test program.

The companies have called the innovation SafetyEye and describe it as a safety-related sensing and control system based on machine vision.

According to Pilz, the SafetyEye will supersede light curtains and laser area scanners, which it says are inefficient because they only monitor a flat plane. Although mirrors or multiple devices can be used to create faceted protection zones when using light curtains, the protected area is often greater than the hazardous zone - wasting floor space and potentially triggering shutdowns earlier than necessary.