Sonair ADAR One 3D ultrasonic sensor is now safety-certified

A small footprint enables ADAR technology to be embedded flush into virtually any robot form factor, Sonair said. | Source: Sonair

Sonair today said that its ADAR One sensor is now suitable for SIL2 and PL d applications and is certified to fulfil all requirements of the European Machinery Directive as an acoustic detection and ranging sensor for the safe detection of humans and objects.

ADAR One was assessed as a human protection sensor according to the demanding IEC 61496 standard for electrosensitive protection devices. The sensor also meets two foundational standards: IEC 61508 , the functional safety standard for electronic safety systems in high-risk industrial environments, and ISO 13849 , the universal standard for safety-related parts of control systems.

“It is hard to convey how extensive and all-encompassing a safety certification process is,” Knut Sandven, CEO of Sonair, told The Robot Report . “We paused all other development for a long stretch and literally spent nights, weekends, and holidays getting it done. We certified ADAR to Performance Level d under ISO 13849 and SIL2 under IEC 61508, with exida in Germany as the assessing body.”

Recent advances in AI have created robots that are smarter and more capable. However, the accompanying safety infrastructure has struggled to keep pace. Traditional 2D laser scanners, which are widely used to define safety perimeters for many mobile robots, are unable to detect people and obstacles above or below a single plane.

“Navigation in 2D can be perfectly fine. A robot can localize, map, and plan a route from a horizontal scan. Safety in 2D is a different matter,” Sandven said. “A 2D safety scanner sees the world as a single horizontal slice, usually around leg height. It catches a person’s legs but misses anything that does not cross that one plane: a person leaning in toward the robot, an overhanging shelf, or something suspended from the ceiling. To account for that, integrators compensate with large safety margins and low speeds, which costs throughput.”

Designed for autonomous mobile robots ( AMRs ) and industrial automation, ADAR One delivers 180°×180° 3D spatial awareness, detecting people and obstacles at all heights, said the Oslo-based company .

“The point is not that 2D is useless. It is the current default for protecting people, and it does that job,” Sandven said. “But it is not the best tool for confirming that a person is clear of harm across the full working space of a robot.”

Robotics developers can deploy ADAR One in AMRs, AGVs, and cobot architectures without seeking special exemptions. | Source: Sonair