“Awareness” Collision Detection

Auto Control Systems and IFM Efector have partnered to provide the “Awareness” Collision Detection and Driver Awareness system.Industries such as material handling, construction, waste and agriculture, use machines and plant equipment which often pose a danger when reversing.  The Driver Awareness System is in most cases, a “plug and play” solution which surveys the rear area when in reverse, alerting the operator when approaching a possible hazard. Optional warnings can be given if the machine approaches the edge of a wharf or loading bay, prompting the operator to stop before the machine falls off the edge.

Alerts are given either via visual alarms (recommended for noisy environments), audio alarms or both. Outputs are available in case machine speed reduction needs to be activated. The size and shape of the danger zones are set up depending on the vehicle type and the company safety policy. Different warning signals can be defined according to the level of risk. The system is resilient in tough conditions due to its robustness with no moving parts, and backed up by IFM’s 5 year warranty.

The IFM 3D sensor has no moving components in contrast to other area surveillance sensors such as laser scanners.  The sensor detects scenes and objects in three dimensions with only one image capture. This avoids the motion blur that can occur with line scanners. The integrated, active suppression of background illumination almost completely prevents saturation of the image by extraneous light. That means that the sensor can be operated in bright sunlight up to 120 kLux.