Goods Transfer Station with Safely Wirelessly Connected AGVs

Problem statement

AMRs (autonomous mobile robots) transport goods from the warehouse to the production line. Interaction between humans (workers) and machines (AGVs) must be safe, which is why safety communication between humans and machines is essential.

Implementation scenario

First, the transfer platform is equipped with a panel that includes approval and emergency switches. In a second step, this panel and each individual AMR are equipped with a Bridge E and a Safety PLC.

Employees expressly allow AMRs to approach the platform; an AMR never approaches the platform without confirmation. When the emergency stop switch is activated, only the AMRs located near the production line stop. AMRs in the warehouse continue their journey without stopping.

Business impact

Our solution enabled our cooperation partner to independently and smoothly integrate the safety stop function using standard safety components. This was made possible by the use of our Bridge E with black channel communication for the CIP Safety protocol. The locally limited emergency stop function significantly increased efficiency, as AMRs in the warehouse are not affected by downtime.

Traffic: CIP Safety
Latency: 20 ms
Coverage: 10 x 10 m
Roaming: No
Network: 6 devices