Standards Development

Scope

IEC TS 62998-3 give guidance on:

– analysis of sensor technologies of different wavelength ranges (respective correlating frequencies), measurement principle and the sensing unit arrangement in a SRS respective the arrangement of SRS’s in a SRSS;

– representative physical properties of safety related objects under consideration of their material characteristic and the sensor technology/technologies used in a SRS/SRSS to achieve the detection capability and comparable results during verification and validation;

– analysis of the interference of other objects present in the surrounding on the detection of safetyrelated objects; 

– appropriate use of additional algorithm during the integration of SRS or SRSS by the integrator to improve execution of measurement information or providing decision information out of measurement information’s;

– use of algorithms (e.g. for classification of objects) during design and development of a SRS by the manufacturer to achieve appropriate detection capability.

IEC TS 62998-3 is intended to be used in conjunction with IEC TS 62998-1. If an SRS/SRSS applies sensor technologies not stated in Table 1 of this document then only the generic approach in accordance to IEC TS 62998-1 shall be used.

Purpose

Applications of AGVs, Service Robotics used in public areas or Human Machine Interaction in industries show an increasing demand and use of new sensor technologies and new kind of sensor functions with respect to hazard exposure of persons. A rapidly increasing number of sensors, with different sensor technologies, are used in these applications to achieve high degree of automation up to autonomy.

The systematic capabilities of such sensors shall be sufficient to reduce the risk of personal injury. Other aspects of functional safety related to sensors as part of control systems are covered by e.g. IEC 61508, IEC 62061 or ISO 13849.

Existing design specific sensor standards set requirements on systematic capabilities for a selected sensor technology and how these can be assessed by analysis and test. The specific requirements are derived from products with limited classes of safety performance and already well-known sensor technology.

Examples of new and already in the market introduced sensor technologies that are not covered by product specific standards are:

• safety related use of RFID based person localization in intralogistics application,

• safety related use of Ultrasonic technologies used for collision avoidance of persons and forklift trucks,

• combination of different sensor technologies e.g. 2D Lidar and 3D vision sensors on mobile robots in industrial manufacturing,

• combination of static and mobile sensor arrangements in logistic centers to monitor separation between person and trucks.

The generic sensor standard IEC TS 62998-1 set general requirements for the development and integration of safety related sensors (SRS) and safety related sensor systems (SRSS) applicable to such new sensor technologies with special attention to systematic capabilities. IEC TS 62998-1 set requirements on the processes and methods used to develop, integrate and maintain sensors that are appropriate for the risk reduction in accordance to all classes of safety performance in an identified application.

First assessments of SRS/SRSS in accordance to IEC TS 62998-1 identified the need for additional guidance for the required analysis of sensor technologies and use of algorithms.

The range of wavelength (respective correlating frequencies), measurement principle and the arrangement of the sensing unit in a SRS respective arrangement of SRS’s in a SRSS specify sensor technologies. IEC TS 62998-3 will give guidance for sensor technologies in a wavelength range from 380 nm up to 2400 m without setting requirements for a specific design or limiting the class of safety performance. If applicable to 44/868/NP the sensor technology additional information is given to physical properties of objects that shall be detected or relevant objects that interfere the detection of such objects.

Algorithms are a core element to achieve safety related functions in a SRS/SRSS like localization or classification of objects that are important to guide an autonomous or highly automated system in a more or less known surrounding. Platforms like cloud-based services provide e.g. algorithms or measures for their automated generation that can be implemented by different integrators of SRS into an SRSS or by the manufacturer of such sensors. Their implementation shall not result in intolerable risk for person in the surrounding and IEC TS 62998-3 will give guidance on this.