SICK Launches Rugged Visionary AI-Assist Safety Sensor

SICK Sensor Intelligence has unveiled the Visionary AI-Assist, a rugged, AI-enabled sensor designed to improve safety in demanding industrial, construction, and agricultural environments. Combining 3D imaging with intelligent object and people detection, the system acts as a digital assistant for mobile machinery. With temperature resistance, IP69K protection, and seamless CAN integration, Visionary AI-Assist provides reliable collision avoidance and real-time risk assessment—even in dust, vibration, or extreme weather conditions.

SICK’s Visionary-B Two 3D camera is designed to withstand harsh conditions and minimize interference to device functioning through shock and vibrational disturbances. Image used courtesy of SICK

A Rugged, Multi-Industry Sensor

The Visionary AI-Assist sensor features a temperature tolerance of –40 °C to +55 °C and an ingress protection rating of IP67 and IP69k. Both ratings mean that the sensor is completely dust-tight, with IP67 conferring protection against the incursion of water for 30 minutes at 1 meter, while IP69k adds protection against high-pressure water jets, stream cleaning, and high temperatures. This level of protection means that the Visionary AI-Assist sensor is ideally suited to industrial, construction, and agricultural environments, where conditions are at their extreme and subject to the elements.

Want to learn how to set up Visionary AI-Assist? Take a look at this tutorial to get yourself up and running. Video used courtesy of SICK

Flexible production lines requiring the transport and delivery of parts could employ the Visionary AI-Assist sensor, particularly for monitoring interaction between mobile transport vehicles and human workers. Another potential application area includes the transportation of crops on farms or the movement of automated tractors and other heavy-duty machinery on agricultural land. Customers might also use the device to monitor autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and/or autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) within warehousing and logistics centers.

The Visionary-B Two 3D Stereo Camera

The rugged stereo camera (Visionary-B Two) produces a color 3D depth map incorporating 3D depth information and true-color (RGB) image data. The camera achieves a resolution og 1,024 × 576 pixels (roughly, this equates to ≈0.6 megapixels) at up to 30 frames per second. Customers can choose from a wide field of view (≈130° × 105°) or a narrower field of view (≈90° × 60°), depending on whether they require closer or more long-range coverage (up to ≈approximately 37 m). Because depth and color visuals, data processing, and people/object identification occur on a single device, machines and humans collaborating in the same work environment can react promptly to avoid collisions and potential harm.

The device complies with electromagnetic compatibility standards required for mobile and industrial machinery, which confers stability in noisy and disturbed environments, where taking consistently accurate readings is required.

The Visionary-B Two uses a standard Ethernet vision protocol to send image data over conventional network cables to a high-power PC or controller. No extra drivers are required as the protocol works across existing vision systems and software platforms in industrial settings.

AI-Assist Software and Communications

The Visionary AI-Assist supports CAN (Control Area Network), a communication framework employed by mobile machinery. The framework is based on a specific standard that sets out how data is structured (concerning alerts, speed of vehicles, and distance) and transferred between on-vehicle devices. The standard ensures that Visionary AI-Assist can integrate with a vehicle's active control network. This eases installation and speeds up setup, without adding more electronics and different control devices.