SAFETY OVER NETWORKS: WHERE CONNECTIVITY MEETS PRODUCTIVITY

摘要

Dr Martin Kidman discusses the issues relating to machine safety in an era of greater machine connectivity. As Industry 4.0 machine connectivity grows, so does the potential to make automated production and material handling processes more flexible and responsive. Manufacturing and logistics environments still require interaction between humans and machines, but the physical barriers between them are being gradually removed, creating more dynamic ways of working. Machines need no longer be rooted to the spot, separated from each other and from humans. Autonomous vehicles automatically change their paths to avoid obstacles, production areas are frequently reconfigured, machine settings and tooling must be changed rapidly to accommodate product variation.