Design, system model and development of customized electronic light barriers for robotic and mechatronic applications

In recent decades, indispensability of customized development of industrial-grade products has been widely recognized. The present paper describes the design, modeling and indigenous hardware development of such a product, namely, ‘Electronic Light Barrier’, with two separate (design) variations to suit user-specific applications in respective cases, pertaining to robotic and mechatronic systems. One of the versions of the said product has been crystallized as an obvious choice for the sensor-operated guarding system for machine tools and/or manipulators in a shop-floor environment, while the other variant is earmarked for specific application in industrial metrology. The developments have been aimed to facilitate round-the-clock industrial operation, with an insight to critical estimation of analytical modeling and system performance. Both varieties of the developed product encompass instrumented hardware, comprising infrared type sensory elements in a pre-conceived layout. Although the dimensionally larger variant is aptly suited for potential application related to workplace safety and ‘object’ detection and the smaller variant can act as a perfect choice for metrology-based operation, both variants rely on similar control algorithm and activation logic.

► Harnessing infrared sensors: for cross-coupled activation between emitters and detectors.
► Deciphering sensory output in analog form: for easy handshaking with the allied instrumentation in the shop-floor (e.g. robot program and controller interface; belt-conveyor drive system).
► Establishing viability of line of sight over a large linear distance.