A new approach to robotic safety: SafetyBUS p at BMW

Abstract

Availability, reliability, flexibility and comprehensive diagnostics are the most significant demands placed upon safety systems today. Increasing payloads, work ranges and cycle times of robotic processes necessitate a different approach to safety, particularly other than that offered by conventional safety relays and fencing. The development of fieldbus for safety‐related applications and new International and European Standards have fundamentally changed the manner in which safety is now being engineered in the plant. BMW are the first to directly integrate robotic safety functions using a safety‐related fieldbus.