IO-Link Wireless for Cobots and Robots - Solution Overview

IO-Link Wireless for Robots and Cobots

Robotic arms play a key role in modern factories, perform complex operations that were previously done manually, in a much more precise, quick, and efficient manner. Robotic arms either act on their own (Robots) or in a collaborative environment along with human operators (Cobots). But whether for assembly tasks, pick & drop or handling of hazardous materials, Robots and Cobots all require sensors and actuators at their end-of-arm, commonly referred to as End-of-arm-tooling ("EOAT").

Wireless Solutions

The constraints in deploying EOAT makes wireless connectivity a requirement for many applications. Wireless connectivity makes the design and form factor more attractive, and not needing to account for cables enables functionalities such as continuous rotation, improved operational reach and modular deployment of sensors and actuators. It also reducesdeployment costs, maintenance cost (due to cable wear-and-tear) and unplanned downtime. Yet, traditional wireless technologies are not fit for the industrial operational requirements posed by Robots and Cobots. Operation of actuators and monitoring sensors in the industrial automation requires very low latency and response time along with high reliability and immunity to noise and interferences. Technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee are simply not reliable nor fast enough for such applications.

IO-Link Wireless

Unlike the conventional wireless technologies that were designed for IT (Information Technology) and general connectivity, IO-Link Wireless was designed as a standard for industrial OT (Operation Technology) and factory automation applications such as Robotics. As an extension of the IO-Link standard, IO-Link Wireless is a deterministic wireless protocol, assuring operational automation of 5ms low latency. With a built-in noise immunity, it performs at an extremely low PER (Packet Error Rate) of 1e-9, making it 6 orders of magnitude (one million times) more reliable than other wireless systems. Thus, IO-Link Wireless makes wireless connectivity to
Robots and Cobots EOAT a common reality as reliable as wired communication while being unbound.

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