The collaboration between humans and robots has become a matter of daily occurrence. Current figures assume 43,000 installed cobots worldwide, and by 2025 there could be as many as 700,000 units, according to estimates. But this rising technology also involves challenges, because both humans and technology must be reliably protected against injuries and damage resulting from collisions. That is why Mayser has been working in recent years on the development of highly-efficient pressure-sensitive and capacitive sensor systems. The pioneering technology in this area is the USi^®, which is the only ultrasonic sensor in the world that is certified for human safety.

Safety and productivity

But in addition to safety, productivity also plays an important part in HRC. That is why Matthias Schwerthalter, a Mayser project manager for collision protection chose the following title for his presentation at the forum: “Productive and safe – Boosting productivity with non-touch collision production”. Schwerthalter explained vividly to an attentive audience how USi^® technology works and provided an overview of the numerous areas of application for ultrasonic sensors – such as automatic guided vehicles or automated production.

Important industry platform

The Human-Robot Forum in Stuttgart is an important event for the HRC sector. It provides a joint platform for both experts and newcomers in the field of human-robot collaboration and enables the comprehensive transfer of expertise as well as establishing valuable contacts. Mayser benefited greatly from the opportunity to meet and exchange information with robot manufacturers, integrators, users and component manufacturers for gripper systems, as well as researchers and developers, and to develop our position within the industry.