An infrastructure-level safety controller that tracks every worker's real-time position via UWB tags and dynamically adjusts AGV/AMR safety zones in under 50ms. It replaces the static sensor-only approach with multi-sensor fusion — combining ceiling-mounted UWB anchors, on-vehicle safety scanners, and a central zone engine — to eliminate blind-spot collisions and reduce nuisance stops by up to 60%.
The AGV Dynamic Safety Zone Controller is an infrastructure-level safety system that replaces fixed-geometry safety scanners with real-time, personnel-aware adaptive zones. It works by fusing data from UWB tracking tags worn by every worker, ceiling-mounted anchor nodes, and on-vehicle safety scanners into a unified safety picture. The controller continuously computes each AGV's required protection and warning zones based on vehicle speed, load weight, path curvature, and the exact positions of all nearby personnel — then commands speed reductions or safety-rated stops through dual-channel OSSD outputs.
Each worker wears a 15g UWB badge (IP67-rated). Ceiling-mounted anchor nodes — one per 200–400m² — triangulate every badge position at ±10cm accuracy with 10Hz refresh. The Dynamic Zone Engine ingests this real-time personnel map alongside each AGV's telemetry (speed, heading, payload) and calculates an individualised safety perimeter. When a worker enters an AGV's warning zone, the controller commands deceleration; when a worker enters the protection zone, it triggers a safety-rated stop via SIL 2 dual-channel OSSD. All of this happens in under 50ms end-to-end — faster than any vehicle-mounted scanner's reactive loop.
Vehicle-mounted safety scanners (2D/3D LiDAR) only detect obstacles within line-of-sight — typically 3–9 metres. They cannot see around corners, behind pallet racking, or through obstacles. They also cannot distinguish a person from a stray pallet or cart, causing frequent nuisance stops. The infrastructure controller solves both problems: UWB signals penetrate all physical obstacles, and the system knows the difference between personnel (tagged) and objects (untagged). The result is continuous, omnidirectional safety coverage that supplements — never replaces — on-vehicle scanners, satisfying the multi-sensor redundancy principle required by ISO 3691-4 and EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230.
Eight engineered features that define the controller's safety performance and integration flexibility.
Protection and warning zones resize in real time based on AGV speed, load mass, and path curvature. At full speed with heavy loads, zones expand to maximum safe distances; as the AGV decelerates or enters low-traffic aisles, zones contract — maintaining safety without sacrificing throughput.
Fuses UWB personnel positions, on-vehicle safety scanner data (SICK, Omron, Keyence, Hokuyo), and AGV telemetry into a single coherent safety state. The fusion algorithm cross-validates all inputs, rejecting false positives from non-human objects while maintaining ISO 13849-1 PLd Cat 3 fault tolerance.
Every zone violation triggers a dual-channel OSSD output rated to SIL 2 / IEC 61508. The interlock is fail-safe: loss of any signal — UWB dropout, anchor failure, communication interruption — immediately commands all affected AGVs to safety stop. On-board scanners then take over in conservative fixed-zone mode until UWB is restored.
Manages 200+ AGVs per controller simultaneously. When multiple robots approach a pedestrian crossing, the orchestrator synchronises speed reductions across the fleet to prevent traffic congestion while maintaining safe perimeters — something standalone vehicle scanners cannot achieve since each operates in isolation.
Supports multiple safety profiles that can be switched in real time: "high-traffic" (dense pedestrian areas), "minimal-staff" (night shifts, reduced zones for higher speeds), "maintenance" (restricted AGV speeds, expanded protection zones). Profiles change automatically based on personnel density and time-of-day schedules.
Because only personnel carry UWB tags, the system intrinsically ignores pallets, carts, debris, and rack structures that would otherwise trigger vehicle-mounted scanners. This reduces nuisance emergency stops by up to 60% — recovering throughput that static scanners permanently lose to false positives.
Every safety event is logged with timestamp, personnel ID, robot ID, spatial coordinates, and zone state. The system auto-generates audit-ready reports for ISO 3691-4, EU Machinery Regulation, UK PUWER, and OSHA inspections. Data retention: 3+ years local storage with optional cloud synchronisation.
UWB tags are available in ATEX Zone 2 certification for use in flammable or explosive atmospheres. Anchor nodes and controller hardware are rated for -30°C to +60°C operation, making the system suitable for cold storage freezers, chemical warehouses, and pharmaceutical clean rooms.
The controller sits at the centre of a three-layer safety architecture: the field layer (UWB anchors + tags + on-vehicle scanners), the control layer (the zone controller itself), and the fleet management layer (FMS/VDA 5050 integration).
UWB anchor nodes mount on warehouse ceilings (one per 200–400m², IP67). Workers wear 15g clip-on UWB badges with 24+ month battery life (CR2032). On-vehicle safety scanners from SICK, Omron, Keyence, Hokuyo, Pepperl+Fuchs, and Leuze continue operating as the secondary safety layer. All field devices communicate with the controller over industrial Ethernet.
The Dynamic Zone Controller runs the fusion engine, zone calculation, fleet orchestration, and compliance logging. It outputs safety-rated commands to each AGV via EtherCAT, PROFINET, or Modbus TCP. The controller is rack-mountable (19" standard) or wall-mountable, with redundant power supply and watchdog timer for continuous 24/7 operation.
Integrates with AGV/AMR fleet management systems via REST API, MQTT, WebSocket, and VDA 5050 / OPC-UA protocols. Compatible with multi-vendor fleets: MiR, KUKA, Geek+, OTTO by Rockwell, Locus, and other VDA 5050-compliant platforms. The API enables safety telemetry dashboards, remote configuration, and integration with warehouse management systems (WMS).
The controller connects to site PLCs (Siemens S7, Allen-Bradley, Beckhoff) through PROFINET or EtherCAT for hardwired safety interlock with conveyor systems, automatic doors, and other material handling equipment. Dual-channel OSSD outputs interface directly with safety relay modules (Pilz, Sick, Keyence) to extend the safety perimeter beyond the AGV fleet to the entire automated material flow system. This enables coordinated safety responses — for example, stopping both AGVs and conveyor belts when a personnel zone breach is detected.
The dynamic safety zone controller with UWB personnel tracking is deployed across facility types where human-robot coexistence creates safety challenges that vehicle-mounted scanners alone cannot solve.
Facilities transitioning to automation operate mixed human-AGV workflows for 2–5 years. The controller tracks all workers via UWB badges in real time while AGVs dynamically adjust speed and routing to maintain ISO 3691-4 compliant safe distances — even around blind corners, high-rack aisles, and picking stations where line-of-sight scanners fail.
Cross-dock operations have dense pedestrian traffic with AGVs on overlapping routes. The fleet safety orchestrator creates dynamic virtual corridors that clear paths when workers approach, coordinating multiple AGVs simultaneously to prevent traffic congestion while eliminating the nuisance stops caused by pallets and carts triggering vehicle scanners.
In freezer warehouses (-25°C to -30°C) or chemical storage areas, LiDAR scanners suffer from fog, condensation, and reduced detection reliability. UWB signals penetrate all environmental conditions — ice, fog, dust, chemical vapour — providing consistent safety zone control regardless of visibility. ATEX Zone 2 certified tags enable use in flammable atmospheres.
Night shifts with minimal staffing require different safety parameters than peak-hour operations. The controller automatically switches between "high-traffic" and "minimal-staff" safety profiles based on personnel density — allowing higher AGV speeds when few workers are present while maintaining full compliance. No manual reconfiguration required between shifts.
In automotive assembly plants where AGVs transport components between workstations, workers frequently step into AGV paths during manual assembly operations. The dynamic protection zone contracts and expands with each AGV's real-time speed, ensuring that a fast-moving loaded vehicle maintains maximum safe distance while an empty return vehicle operates with a tighter zone — optimising both safety and cycle time.
Facilities operating AGVs from multiple manufacturers (MiR, KUKA, Geek+, OTTO) need unified safety management across heterogeneous fleets. The controller's VDA 5050 and OPC-UA integration provides a single safety overlay for all vehicle brands, ensuring consistent safety zone behaviour and compliance documentation regardless of the underlying AGV platform.
On-vehicle safety laser scanners (2D/3D LiDAR) detect obstacles within line-of-sight range — typically 3–9 metres. They cannot see around corners, behind racks, or through obstacles, and they cannot distinguish people from pallets or carts. The dynamic safety zone controller complements vehicle scanners with facility-wide UWB personnel tracking: every worker wears a UWB tag, ceiling anchors calculate positions at ±10cm accuracy, and the controller adjusts each AGV's safety zone dynamically based on real-time personnel proximity. This eliminates blind-spot collisions and reduces false stops by up to 60%, while on-vehicle scanners continue to serve as the secondary safety layer.
The controller is certified to CE, UL, and IEC 61508 SIL 2 for safety-rated output. Its functional safety performance meets ISO 13849-1 PLd Category 3. The dual-channel OSSD outputs are safety-rated, and the fail-safe design ensures that any loss of signal — whether from UWB dropout, anchor failure, or communication interruption — immediately commands a safety stop. The system is designed to comply with ISO 3691-4, EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230, and UK PUWER requirements.
Yes. The controller communicates with AGVs through standard industrial protocols: EtherCAT, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, and VDA 5050. It integrates with fleet management systems from MiR, KUKA, Geek+, OTTO by Rockwell, Locus, and other VDA 5050-compliant platforms. It also interfaces with on-vehicle safety scanners from SICK, Omron, Keyence, Pepperl+Fuchs, and Leuze — supplementing their detection without replacing them.
The system is designed as a fail-safe overlay, not a replacement for on-vehicle safety sensors. If UWB tracking is lost — due to anchor failure, tag battery depletion, or communication interruption — the controller immediately signals all AGVs to revert to their on-board scanner-only safety mode with conservative fixed-zone parameters. The dual-channel OSSD follows a "fail-to-safe" design: loss of signal triggers a safety-rated stop. Continuous protection is maintained at all times, satisfying ISO 13849-1 fault exclusion requirements.
Installation involves three components: (1) Ceiling-mounted UWB anchor nodes — one per 200–400m², mounted with standard brackets and connected via PoE Ethernet. (2) The zone controller unit — rack-mountable in a 19" cabinet or wall-mounted, connected to site power (redundant 24VDC) and the facility network. (3) UWB badges distributed to all personnel working in AGV zones. The controller auto-discovers anchors and configures the tracking geometry. Integration with AGV fleets is configured through the REST API or VDA 5050 interface. Typical deployment for a 10,000m² facility takes 2–3 weeks including anchor installation, network setup, fleet integration, and safety validation.
Yes. The system operates from -30°C to +60°C, covering freezer warehouses and hot manufacturing environments. UWB signals are unaffected by fog, condensation, ice, dust, or chemical vapour — conditions that degrade LiDAR scanner performance. UWB tags are available in ATEX Zone 2 certification for flammable or explosive atmospheres. All anchor nodes are IP67-rated for ceiling mounting in washdown or high-humidity areas.
Get a facility-specific safety assessment. Our team will evaluate your current AGV fleet, pedestrian traffic patterns, and safety coverage gaps — then design a dynamic safety zone solution with an implementation plan tailored to your facility.