Abstract: A light curtain controller is provided that serially tunes or optimizes the operating margin of each channel during an initialization sequence. The controller measures and adjusts the operating margin for each emitter-receiver pair individually, such that the margin for each channel satisfies a defined optimization criterion. In this way, the light curtain's unique environmental and installation conditions are taken into account when tuning each channel. By individually tuning each emitter-receiver pair, the operating margin of each channel is set sufficiently high to ensure accurate object detection, while excessive margin is limited to prevent signal processing errors, such as those associated with adjacent-channel signal bleed-through, susceptibility to internal and external noise, etc.

Abstract: A light curtain controller is provided that serially tunes or optimizes the operating margin of each channel during an initialization sequence. The controller measures and adjusts the operating margin for each emitter-receiver pair individually, such that the margin for each channel satisfies a defined optimization criterion. In this way, the light curtain's unique environmental and installation conditions are taken into account when tuning each channel. By individually tuning each emitter-receiver pair, the operating margin of each channel is set sufficiently high to ensure accurate object detection, while excessive margin is limited to prevent signal processing errors, such as those associated with adjacent-channel signal bleed-through, susceptibility to internal and external noise, etc.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates initiating a sequence within an industrial automation environment. A radio frequency identification (RFID) component can receive data from an RFID tag. An event control component can invoke at least one event related to a device in a designated control sequence.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates providing a safety mechanism associated with a protective zone in an industrial automation environment. An radio frequency identification (RFID) component can receive data from an RFID tag to identify a location. A safety component can employ a safe mode to a device based at least in part upon the location to employ a protected zone in proximity with the device.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides industrial automation systems and/or methods that evaluate a proximity to potential hazards. A plurality of sensors can provide redundant detected data. Additionally, a proximity evaluation component can evaluate the detected data, determine a location of at least one of a person and an object, and identify a distance from the location to one or more hazardous zones in a monitored region.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides industrial automation systems and/or methods that visualize availability and safety levels. An optimization component can generate a voting configuration that provides an optimized combination of a safety level and an availability level based upon available redundancy. Additionally, a graphical user interface can present a visualization of the safety level and the availability level.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides industrial automation systems and/or methods that can aggregate data. A plurality of sensors can provide redundant detected data. Additionally, a weighting component can respectively weight the detected data based upon a confidence of accurate measurement corresponding to each of the plurality of sensors. Further, a combination component can assemble the redundant detected data based at least in part upon the weights to generate harmonized data.

Abstract: Systems and methods of risk management that employ a risk assessment component to continuously update risk estimation associated with a machine of a manufacturing system. A data input component is provided for receiving a measured parameter associated with a current machine condition. A comparison is performed between the measured parameter from current machine condition with predetermined risk estimations/assessment parameters to determine whether the current machine condition is within the range of acceptable operator risk conditions.

Abstract: System(s) and method(s) that facilitate utilizing biometric sensors (e.g., fingerprint, hand scan, voice recognition . . . ) in manufacturing systems in order to maintain accurate safety audit trails. A safety audit system, utilizing a biometric sensing device, facilitates determining if a user is allowed to access and change the configuration of the manufacturing system. Once a user is allowed to change the configuration (e.g., programmable electronics, tooling changes, software updates, etc.) the changes are automatically recorded in a safety audit database. Automatic storage of configuration changes mitigates manual recording of changes thereby enhancing the safety audit data often necessary to meet safety standards for manufacturing systems.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides industrial automation systems and/or methods that configure available redundancy. An interface component can obtain input data. Additionally, an optimization component can generate a voting configuration that allocates available redundancy to provide an optimized combination of safety and availability based at least in part on the input data.

Abstract: The present invention relates to circuits configured for implementation in sensors, sensors employing such circuits, and methods of operating and manufacturing such sensors and/or circuits. In at least some embodiments, the circuit includes a capacitor having a first input terminal and a first output terminal, a first amplifier having second and third input terminals and a second output terminal, and a second amplifier having fourth and fifth input terminals and a third output terminal. The first output terminal of the capacitor is coupled at least indirectly to the second input terminal, the fourth input terminal, and the third output terminal. Additionally, the second amplifier provides feedback current with respect to the capacitor depending upon signals provided to the fourth and fifth input terminals. The capacitor and each of the amplifiers can be implemented on an integrated circuit without any need for external components.

Abstract: An amplification circuit for implementation in sensors such as photodetectors and other devices, and related method of amplification, are disclosed. In some embodiments, the amplification circuit includes a first amplifier that receives an input signal at least indirectly from a photosensitive device and provides an amplified signal based upon the input signal, where each the amplified signal at least includes a time-varying signal component, and a recovery circuit that receives the amplified signal and provides an output signal indicative of at least a portion of the time-varying signal component of the amplified signal. The recovery circuit includes a current splitting component that operates to generate negative and positive signals indicative respectively of negative and positive portions of the time-varying signal component, and the negative and positive signals are generated in a manner such that there are no substantial discontinuities between those signals at crossover points between those signals.

Abstract: A method of calibrating a sensor such as a photodetector, and device capable of employing that method, are disclosed. The method includes shining light upon a photosensitive device of the photodetector, receiving a first signal from an operator, and increasing a gain of the photodetector. The method also includes discontinuing the shining of the light upon the photosensitive device after the gain has been increased, receiving a second signal from an operator, and decreasing the gain so that the gain is not excessive.