In industrial scenarios such as automobile manufacturing and electronic assembly, industrial robotic arms are often used. These machines are typically loaded with hundreds of pounds of goods. If a collision accident occurs, the consequences would be disastrous. That said, how to keep robotic arm working space safe and secure has become critical for manufacturers. In this regard, Hikvision's latest robotic arm anti-collision camera can play a key role. This article looks at the performance, accuracy and deployment flexibility of the camera, based on product testing conducted by a&s China.
Flexible deployment
The camera has a metal housing and is highlighted by its small size, lightness and durability. It comes with a standard wire box bracket, supports horizontal and vertical angle adjustment, and is flexible and convenient to install.
The camera is powered by PoE and has three lenses with a combined total resolution of 5 megapixels. The camera supports a wide monitoring range and can cover an operation area of 6 x 6 meters, making it suitable for various robotic arm operation scenarios such as dismantling, stacking, handling, and welding.
Stereoscopic vision imaging technology
Robotic arm safety measures do exist. These include safety fences, gratings and safety door locks. However, these often prove to be insufficient. More and more, single-lens cameras are used to keep workers safe. Yet they cannot accurately tell whether a person is inside the operation area or outside, due to the lack of depth information. Hikvision's robotic arm anti-collision camera, on the other hand, is equipped with stereoscopic vision imaging technology. Through lenses on the left and right, the camera simulates the human eye and generates depth information in real time, accurately calculating the spatial position of the target object.
In the actual test, we had the robotic arm running at high speed and people passing by the edge of the working area. Since conventional cameras cannot generate enough depth information, it is easy for them to mistakenly determine that people are inside the working area when they are not; a false alarm is thus triggered. Hikvision’s camera accurately determines the position of people through more detailed depth information and triggers an alarm only when people actually step into the working area, ensuring production can move forward safely and efficiently.
Enters Guanlan AI
It should also be noted that traditional deep learning algorithms are prone to false alarms due detection inaccuracy – for example, part of a robotic arm may be mistaken as the limbs of a person, resulting in false alarms, downtime and production inefficiency. The Hikvision camera relies on the company’s Guanlan large model AI, which is trained with large amounts of visual data combined with real scene characteristics to effectively filter out false alarms, thereby greatly improving the camera's detection accuracy.
Easily installed
Hikvision's robotic arm anti-collision camera can be easily installed through a universal joint; its field of view can be flexibly adjusted. The operation interface is intuitive and allows one-click configuration, effectively lowering the operation threshold. In addition, the product has various peripheral interfaces, supports open SDKs and APIs, and seamlessly connects with programmable logic controllers (PLCs), safety relays and other control devices as well as third-party software platforms.
The camera supports integration with control devices such as PLCs and safety relays to prevent robotic arms from irregular activation. By having multiple alarm outputs and integration with external audio and visual alarms, the camera can ensure maximal protection of personnel.
Product features
- Stereoscopic imaging and large visual models to achieve accurate detection;
- Flexible and convenient installation and deployment;
- Multiple alarms integration and multi-dimensional protection;
- Strong anti-interference ability; adaptable to complex environments.
a&s comments
Hikvision's robotic arm anti-collision camera has the triple advantages of stereoscopic imaging + large visual model + industrial-grade reliability, achieving production safety and efficiency. It’s been said that real industrial safety is not about passive defense, but the ability to give machines the ability to understand the environment through technologies such as AI. Hikvision’s robotic arm anti-collision camera is a manifestation of that statement.