🤖 Dynamic Safety Solutions for Robotic Cells from Pilz!

[Mucitler Elektrik]

Pilz Redefines Robotic Safety in Zaragoza!​

Pilz introduced its advanced safety solutions for robotic cells at the Supreme Cobot & Automation Day event held at the Aragon Institute of Technology in Zaragoza. At this event, organized in collaboration with ABB Robotics, Stemmer Imaging, Schmalz, and Zimmer Group, Pilz demonstrated how flexible robotic cells are created through its intelligent safety technologies.

🚀 Flexibility and Safety Combined: IO-Link Safety and ABB SafeMove​

At the event, attended by over 70 industry professionals, Pilz emphasized the importance of digitalization and functional safety's compliance with the new European regulatory framework. The company showcased ways to optimize the efficiency of automated processes without compromising operator safety.

Pilz's main demonstration was a Pick & Place application integrating the safety functions of PSENopt II Advanced light curtains and IO-Link Safety technology with the ABB SafeMove system. This combination allows protective devices to dynamically adjust their behavior according to the exact position and operating status of the robot arm. According to Daniel Martín, Manager of the Pilz Spain Robotic Competence Center, this technological transformation responds to the requirements of the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 and the new editions of ISO 10218-1:2025 and ISO 10218-2:2025 standards, which demand advanced capabilities in connectivity and functional safety.

🔒 Access Management and Industrial Cybersecurity​

In addition to the physical protection of the robotic cell, Pilz also addressed the critical need to protect interconnected industrial environments from digital threats and human error. The company introduced its Identity and Access Management (I.A.M.) system, designed to prevent unauthorized interventions in machinery. These control tools connect with MYZEL, a data and service digitalization platform that facilitates the intelligent use of information generated by the plant. This convergence ensures that the transition to data-driven production models maintains a robust stance in terms of both functional safety and cybersecurity.

⚙️ Dynamic Safety Zones: The Robotic Revolution​

In traditional robotic cells, optical safety light curtains operate in a binary fashion: if the light beam is interrupted, a contactor cuts power, and the robot performs an emergency stop. This rigid configuration requires large safety perimeters and constant manual resets that severely penalize cycle time (OEE). By integrating a bidirectional safe communication protocol like IO-Link Safety with a safe kinematic controller like ABB SafeMove, the cell achieves "dynamic zoning."

The SafeMove system redundantly monitors the robot's Cartesian position, joint angles, and Tool Center Point (TCP) speed in real-time. When an operator crosses the optical barrier, instead of a complete shutdown, the system can instantly slow the robot to a safe collaborative speed or restrict its movements to a working area zone away from the worker. This eliminates unnecessary downtime, reduces the cell's plant footprint, and enables true human-robot collaboration with heavy industrial equipment.