HEALTH & SAFETY
SAFETY LASER SCANNER
SICK
SICK VENTURES OUTDOORS WITH WORLD’S FIRST
SAFETY LASER SCANNER CERTIFIED TO IEC TS 62998
SICK UK has announced the launch of the
outdoorScan3, the first laser scanner in the
world to be safety-certified for use outdoors.
The outdoorScan3 Safety Laser Scanner safely
and reliably monitors hazardous areas around
machines and industrial vehicles outdoors
with a high level of availability.
The SICK outdoorScan3 Safety Laser Scanner
answers the need for a high-performance
safety scanner certified for outdoor use in
industrial automation and intralogistics
environments, as well as for integration into
autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles
used in sectors such as airports, agriculture,
and mining.
The outdoorScan3 can be used in safety
applications requiring certification to PLd (EN
ISO 13849)/SIL2 (EN 62061) and is additionally
a class D device according to IEC TS 62998,
the new technical specification governing
outdoor use.
Equipped with SICK’s safeHDDMTM time-of
flight infra-red scanning technology, already
used in SICK’s microScan3 family, the SICK
outdoorScan3 uses intelligent algorithms to
filter out the influences of bright sunlight,
rain, snow and fog.
With the outdoorScan3 onboard, automated
guided vehicles (AGVs) can be certified for
travel between indoor and outdoor industrial
environments and thereby enable the
continuous workflow of materials between
production halls or warehouses.
Says Dr Martin Kidman, SICK’s UK product
manager for machinery safety: “The
outdoorScan3 ably masters a delicate balance
between performance and resilience to
outdoor influences. It has the sensitivity
needed to detect people or objects in its
monitoring area reliably.
At the same time, it is more resilient to the
pitfalls of frequent error stops as a result of
harsh weather, dirt or dusty environments.
“Until, now there has been no opportunity for
outdoor applications to be safety-certified.
IEC TS 62998 provides a new technical
specification for compliant devices, and
the outdoorScan3 is the first to meet the
requirements for a Class D device.”
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With a wide scanning angle of 275° and
a protective field range of 4 metres, the
outdoorScan3 achieves a total safe scanning
area of 38.40m2 with a minimum response
time 90 ms. The outdoorScan3 can monitor
up to 128 individual and freely-definable
protective fields, and up to eight fields
simultaneously, giving it ability to respond
highly dynamically to the changing
environment around it.
The SICK outdoorScan3 offers options for easy
and versatile integration using SICK’s Flexi
Soft safety controller and SICK Flexi Soft EFI-
pro gateway. Up to six outdoorScan3 devices
can be networked into a safety system, with
the option to integrate safety encoders for
safe motion control. Configuration and
field set up is easy using SICK’s intuitive
SafetyDesignerTM software tool.
Resilient to ambient light with an intensity
of up to 40,000 lux, the outdoorScan3’s
intelligent software algorithms filter out the
influences of snow (light to moderate) and
rain to a precipitation intensity of 10 mm/h
(moderate rain). Safety is ensured in foggy
conditions by the fogSight function, which
detects when meteorological visual range
(MOR) values eclipse 50 m and turns off the
safe outputs (OSSDs).
The outdoorScan3 can be used in
temperatures from -25 to +50 °C.
The new safe contour detection fields provide
additional versatility for mobile vehicle
applications, such as safe AGV docking and
protecting workers at narrow access points.
With a ‘non-safe’ warning field range of 40m,
the outdoorScan3 also can also output raw
measurement data via Ethernet for navigation
purposes, so safety and navigation duties can
be achieved with a single device, without the
need to use a separate scanner for navigation.
This new IEC TS 62998 Technical Specification
details requirements for the development
and integration of safety related sensors (SRS)
and safety related sensor systems (SRSS)
used for protection of persons with special
attention to systematic capabilities. IEC TS
62998 defines environmental influences and
tests for outdoor use which can influence the
sensing function and dependability of the
detection capability.
It is likely new applications for the
outdoorScan3 will be developed as users
explore the potential of a new technology to
operate in outdoor environments.
To support its customers, SICK has opened an
outdoor development and testing centre at its
headquarters in Waldkirch, southern Germany,
to explore and develop best practice in
outdoor safety sensing and systems.
For more information please contact
Andrea Hornby on 01727 831121 or
email [email protected].
www.sick.co.uk