Application of RPD to Mobile Robots

Lorenzo Nava - CTO, Inxpect SPA

The autonomous vehicle industry is quickly growing, hence new needs are arising especially with respect to sensor capabilities. Radar technology, which is natively 3D, can provide information for navigation in a 3D space, and can reliably operate in any environmental conditions, either outdoor or indoor, covering reliably harsh environments as well. The capability of sensing the 3D area also solves the challenging issue of avoiding collision with pending loads or objects, which is still today implemented with poor and unreliable solutions. In this presentation we will provide an overview of how radar technology is used today to protect autonomous vehicles, with an update on the status of the Radar Protective Device standard, IEC TS 61496-5. We will also describe how IEC TS 62998-1 and IEC TS 62998-3 can be used to extend the radar standard specific part in order to cover mobile and outdoor applications. We will present a safety solution where radars are used to protect a mobile robot (AGV), describing how the ISO 3691-4 can be exploited to design a rigorous and precise validation process. The validation process, designed together with the TÜV Sud notified body, will explain how to adapt the requirements and tests to this new technology. In the last part, we will give a quick overview of the possibility that radar technology might open up with respect to the use of radar data for navigation. The possibility to exploit sensors for both safety and navigation is becoming more and more important, and, at the same time, cost-effective and power-efficient solutions are paramount to delivering high quality products to customers. The radar can provide 3D information of the space around the vehicle, allowing more complex tasks and more comprehensive sensing capabilities, while at the same time guaranteeing the performance required for the vehicle to operate safely.

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