For cobots designed to work in a close proximity to human counterparts, more regulations and standards are underway to build up safe robotic environments. NexCOBOT understands developing for a collaborative operating space from the ground up is a daunting task. SCB 100 has thus come into play to the aid of the developer community.

We have seen automation changing the landscape of factory and manufacturing well before the rampage of pandemic in the past decades. With the unemployment rate high at the moment and shortage of labor likely to continue in a foreseeable future, human and machine collaboration keeps advancing, slowly but steadily, to become the new norm of modern manufacturing. While productivity gains through collaborative operation, concerns of potential risks are growing as well. More attention is given to the safety measures, functional safety to be precise, of a collaborative workplace. For cobots designed to work in a close proximity to human counterparts, more regulations and standards are underway to build up safe robotic environments. NexCOBOT understands developing for a collaborative operating space from the ground up is a daunting task. SCB 100 has thus come into play to the aid of the developer community.

SIL 2 Compliant: of Safety, by Safety, for Safety

SIL2 compliant, SCB 100 brings a shortcut to collaborative solution development, facilitating the entire process by offering a worry-free platform for the developers to build their safety solutions on. Since all board-level compliances have been adhered to, the rest of certifications yet to be identified are all project-wise. This further diminishes the uncertainties in the developing process and is practically a boost to performance.

Newly Configured Core: IoT-Enhanced

Intel Atom® x6427FE processor, a brand new core optimized for IoT applications, empowers SCB 100 with an all-around functional safety package, covering hardware, software as well as safety documentation, for all collaboration workplaces. Intel® Safety Island along with Intel® Slim Bootloader with Pre-OS checker offers double failure preventions by design to enhance protection level from system boot-up.

FSoE Ready: Safe Data on a Single Platform

FSoE (FailSafe over EtherCAT) enables the transfer of safety-critical control data through EtherCAT, incorporating control and safety data into a single communication system. This significantly saves the time and efforts of the development team since the standardization makes modifying and expanding the safety architecture simpler and more flexible. The enhanced connectivity to I/O and sensors along with greatly improved quality of communications between devices, in turn, grants customers enormous value for waiving the lengthy certification time, typically 12 to 18 months.

ROBASafe: Built for Comprehensive Safety

To make every collaborative workspace fully functional safety compliant, NexCOBOT has a more ambitious blueprint. Extending protections from motion control to auxiliaries, covering safety devices, I/O devices, safety sensors as well as safety teach pendants, NexCOBOT aims to build a comprehensive safety network. A safety utility software is also part of the ecosystem, integrating status checkup mechanisms and customized motion controls to increase protection as well as usability.