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Safety Area Scanner: An Engineering Guide to Standards, Specification, and Field Deployment
01 · Safety Technology Guide
What Is a Safety Area Scanner?
A safety area scanner is a commonly used term for a safety laser scanner that monitors a configurable two-dimensional area around machinery, robot cells or mobile equipment.
The scanner repeatedly measures its surroundings and compares detected objects with configured field boundaries. When a person or object enters a safety-related protective field, the scanner changes its safety outputs so the downstream control system can initiate the required safety response.
Product Terminology
“Safety area scanner” describes the application. CCH’s current product family is the SH27 Series Safety Laser Scanner, designed for configurable area monitoring in machinery and mobile robotics applications.
Configurable Area Monitoring
Warning Field
Protective Field
Conceptual field illustration. Actual field geometry and limits depend
on scanner configuration and application requirements.
02 Field Logic
Protective Field vs Warning Field
Safety laser scanners can monitor multiple configurable areas, but a protective field and a warning field do not serve the same safety function.
Safety-Related
Protective Field
The protective field is the safety-related monitored area. When the scanner detects an object within this field, its safety outputs change state so the connected safety control system can initiate the required safety response.
- Used for personnel protection
- Associated with safety-related OSSD outputs
- Field geometry is application-specific
Non-Safety-Related
Warning Field
The warning field can provide an earlier non-safety-related signal before an object reaches the protective field. It may be used for early warning, non-safety-related pre-control or process-related logic.
- Provides early detection
- Does not replace the protective safety function
- Can support non-safety-related pre-warning or process response
01
Scan Environment
The scanner repeatedly measures the configured monitoring area.
02
Protective Field Intrusion
A detected object enters the active safety-related protective field.
03
OSSD State Changes
The safety outputs change state according to the configured
protective-field function.
04
Safety System Responds
The downstream safety system initiates the required stop or safe
state.
Warning-field outputs are non-safety-related and should not be treated as
a substitute for the protective field or the scanner’s safety-related
OSSD outputs.
03 Functional Safety
Safety Standards for Area Scanning
Safety laser scanner selection should consider both the scanner’s certified safety capability and the safety performance required by the complete machine or mobile-robot system.
IEC 61496-3
Safety Laser Scanner Requirements
Covers requirements relevant to active opto-electronic protective devices based on diffuse reflection, including safety laser scanners.
IEC 61508
Functional Safety
Provides the broader framework used to define functional-safety integrity concepts such as SIL.
ISO 13849-1
Safety-Related Control Systems
Used when evaluating the performance level and architecture of safety-related machine control functions.
ISO 13855
Safeguard Positioning
Provides guidance for positioning safeguards relative to approach speed and stopping behaviour.
SH27 Safety Performance
Verified SH27 Safety Classification
IEC 61496-3
Type 3
Safety Integrity
SIL 2
Performance Level
PL d
Architecture
Category 3
Certification of the scanner does not automatically make the complete
machine or robot system compliant. System-level risk assessment,
integration and validation are still required.
04 Safeguard Positioning
Safety Distance & Stopping Time
The protective field must be positioned so the safeguarded system can reach the required safe state before a person can reach the hazard. For mobile equipment, protective-field geometry must likewise account for the vehicle’s actual stopping behaviour.
01
Approach Behaviour
Consider how a person can approach the hazard and which directions must be monitored by the protective field.
02
Scanner Response Time
The selected scanner response-time configuration contributes to the total time before the safety system can react.
03
Control & Stop Time
Include downstream safety-control delay and the measured time required for hazardous motion or vehicle movement to stop.
04
Additional Distance Factors
Application-specific allowances may be required for intrusion, mounting geometry, measurement tolerance and other relevant factors.
Engineering Principle
Minimum Distance Is a System Calculation
Required protective distance depends on the relevant approach or vehicle motion, total system response time, stopping performance and additional application-specific distance terms. Scanner range alone does not determine the correct field boundary.
Machinery Safeguarding
Use Safeguard-Positioning Requirements
For machinery, use the applicable safeguard-positioning standards together with the machine’s actual measured stopping time and the complete safety-chain response.
AGV / AMR Applications
Validate Actual Vehicle Stopping Behaviour
Mobile robots have different motion and stopping characteristics. Use the safety requirements applicable to the mobile platform and validate stopping distance under the relevant operating conditions.
Do not copy a safety distance or protective-field size from another
machine or vehicle. The final configuration must be based on the actual
application, stopping behaviour and complete validated safety function.
05 Machine Safeguarding
Safety Area Scanners for Machines & Robot Cells
Configurable area monitoring is especially useful where access, material flow or process geometry makes a fixed point-of-entry safeguard insufficient by itself.
01
Robot Cell Access
Monitor open access areas or selected zones around robotized equipment where personnel could approach hazardous motion.
02
Machine Area Protection
Monitor floor-level approach zones around machines where flexible field geometry is more suitable than a straight-line sensor.
03
Transfer & Palletizing Areas
Safety scanners can monitor access around material-handling and palletizing zones where products and people use shared floor space.
04
Flexible Production Zones
Multiple field sets can support changing operating conditions when the safety concept has been designed and validated for those modes.
A safety scanner does not automatically replace physical guarding,
interlocked doors or other protective measures. The appropriate
safeguarding concept depends on the risk assessment, access routes,
machine behaviour and required safety function.
06 Mobile Robot Safety
Safety Area Scanners for AGV & AMR Applications
Safety laser scanners are commonly mounted on AGVs and AMRs to monitor configurable protective and warning fields around the moving vehicle. Scanner range, field geometry, response time and vehicle stopping behaviour must be considered together.
SH27 S Models
Safety Monitoring
S-series configurations provide the core safety-scanner functions required for configurable protective and warning field monitoring.
- Protective field monitoring
- Warning field monitoring
- Safety-related OSSD outputs
- Configurable field sets
SH27 D Models
Safety + Ethernet Raw Scan Data
D-series models include all S-series safety functions and add Ethernet output for raw scan data that can be used by downstream navigation, localization or perception software.
- All S-series safety functions
- Ethernet raw scan data
- Distance, angle and echo-intensity data
- Suitable for integration with navigation software
Ethernet scan data is not a safety-related output. Navigation,
localization or perception processing must remain separate from the
certified safety function provided through the scanner’s safety-related
outputs.
07 Selection & Installation
How to Select & Install a Safety Area Scanner
Scanner selection should begin with the safety function and machine geometry rather than with one headline specification.
01
Protective Range
Choose a scanner that covers the required protective field while maintaining the needed detection capability.
02
Safety Performance
Confirm that the scanner and complete safety function meet the required Type, SIL, PL and category.
03
Stopping Distance
Position the protective field using actual total system response and stopping-time data.
04
Mounting Position
Consider floor height, blind areas, approach direction, reflections and the possibility of access beneath or around the field.
05
Object Resolution
Detection capability must fit the intended personnel-protection task and the selected protective range.
06
Field Switching
Confirm how operating modes, vehicle speed or machine states select the appropriate field set.
07
Environment
Review temperature, contamination, ambient light, vibration, enclosure rating and installation conditions.
08
Commissioning & Validation
Validate field geometry, safety outputs, stopping performance and fault response before production use.
SH27 Reference Specifications
Current SH27 Series Configuration Range
Protective Range
3 m or 5 m depending on model
Warning Range
Up to 10 m or 20 m depending on model
Scanning Angle
276°
Zone Sets
Up to 64 configurable sets
Object Resolution
70 mm at maximum protective range
Response Time
Configurable from 100 to 567 ms
Reference specifications describe the SH27 series; model selection and
installation must still be based on the actual application and required
safety function.
08 Common Questions
Safety Area Scanner FAQ
These questions cover the terminology, safety fields, installation and AGV integration issues commonly encountered when selecting a safety laser scanner.
What is a safety area scanner?
A safety area scanner is a commonly used term for a safety laser scanner configured to monitor a two-dimensional area around a machine, robot cell or mobile vehicle.
Is a safety area scanner the same as a safety laser scanner?
In many industrial applications the terms refer to the same type of safety sensing device. “Safety laser scanner” is the more precise product-category term, while “safety area scanner” often describes its area-monitoring application.
What is a protective field?
The protective field is the safety-related monitored area. Entry into this field causes the scanner’s safety outputs to change state so the connected safety system can initiate the required response.
What is a warning field?
A warning field provides an earlier non-safety-related detection signal outside the protective field. It can support warnings, speed reduction or process control but does not replace the safety-related protective field.
How is safety scanner distance calculated?
Minimum distance depends on approach behaviour, total scanner and control-system response time, machine stopping time and additional application-specific distance factors. It should be calculated using the applicable safety standard and actual stopping data.
What does Type 3 mean for a safety laser scanner?
Type 3 refers to the safety-device classification defined for applicable opto-electronic protective equipment under IEC 61496. The complete safety function must still be designed and validated for the machine or vehicle.
What do SIL 2 and PL d mean?
SIL and PL are functional-safety performance concepts used in different standards frameworks. The SH27 series is specified for SIL 2 and PL d / Category 3 safety applications.
Can a safety scanner replace a safety fence?
Not automatically. A safety scanner can be an appropriate safeguarding measure in some applications, but fencing, interlocked guards or other protective measures may still be required depending on the risk assessment and access conditions.
Can safety laser scanners be used on AGVs and AMRs?
Yes. Safety laser scanners are widely used for configurable protective and warning fields around mobile vehicles, provided scanner range, field geometry and stopping distance fit the vehicle safety concept.
Can a safety scanner also provide navigation data?
Selected SH27 D-series models provide Ethernet raw scan data in addition to the safety functions available on S-series models. That Ethernet data can support navigation or perception software, but it is not a safety-related output.
What affects safety scanner response time?
Response time depends on the scanner configuration and the complete safety chain. For the SH27 series, scanner response time can be configured from 100 to 567 ms, and the selected value must be included in the safety-distance calculation.
How do I choose between a 3 m and 5 m protective range?
Choose based on required field geometry, mounting position, stopping distance, object-resolution requirements and the actual machine or vehicle safety concept rather than simply selecting the longest available range.
Safety Laser Scanner Selection
Need Area Protection for a Machine, Robot Cell or AGV?
Explore the SH27 safety laser scanner range or contact CCH to discuss protective range, field configuration, stopping distance and integration requirements for your application.