ProMatDX 2021: Sensors—the eyes and ears of the robot

Robotic applications are playing an increasingly larger role in logistics and fulfillment, and they’re getting smarter every day thanks to the wide range of sensors used in their creation. As the eyes and ears of the robot, sensors are integral to the functionality and safety of these important pieces of equipment.

Executives from German sensor technology firm SICK explained all this in a seminar titled “The Robots Have Eyes! Why Robot Fulfillment Applications Depend on the Latest Sensor Technology,” on day two of ProMatDX, an industry conference being held online this week. Sensors help robots function more effectively in a given environment, allowing them to sense what’s around them and perform critical functions such as picking, depalletizing, shipping, and loading. They play a vital role in robotic vision, safety, and end-of-arm tooling, as well as in functions such as object location and identification, 2D and 3D object handling, and calibration and adaptation.

As robots play an even bigger role in distribution and fulfillment—thanks in large part to the accelerated growth of e-commerce in the past year—sensors will grow in importance as well.

“Humans and robots are working more closely together in logistics. Robots must perceive more precisely--the prerequisite for safe, close collaboration,” according to SICK. “Sensor intelligence is a critical enabler for all effective, safe robotic solutions.”

ProMatDX 2021 takes place April 12-16 online.