3D radar scanner Keeping a close eye on the surroundings

Related Vendors

Hans Turck GmbH & Co. KG

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Many radar sensors for collision avoidance measure the distance and thereby provide only one dimension as a measurement value. Turck's new radar scanner MR15-Q80, on the other hand, provides real 3D data, substantially improving the representation of objects and spaces.

Raphael Penning is Product Manager for Distance Sensors at Turck

Radar technology is often associated with speed controls in road traffic or with flight monitoring devices. However, since the 2000s, the technology has increasingly found its use in the car itself. Active distance control systems, so-called ACC systems (Adaptive Cruise Control), use radars to determine the distance to cars driving ahead and their speed. Radars have been increasingly established in industrial automation in recent years. Especially in level and classic distance measurements, the advantages over ultrasound, optosensor, or media-touching technologies pay off in many applications.

Third party in the alliance

In 2020, Turck had already introduced its first radar sensors for level measurement with the LRS series, followed in 2021 by the DR-M30 radar sensors for distance measurement. Both device families operate in the 120-GHz range, which particularly benefits the range and resolution, meaning the accuracy of the signal. As the third member of the radar portfolio, Turck is now launching the MR15-Q80 radar sensor.

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The housing shape already makes it apparent that another type of device is supplementing the product range: Unlike the cylindrical devices for distances and levels, the MR15-Q80 is flat and cuboid in design. The underlying technology also differs: inside the robust IP69K housing, an antenna operates at 60 GHz. Compared to the 120-GHz frequency band, the lower frequency provides less resolution, but the radiation angle significantly broadens. Thus, the MR15-Q80 sensors capture objects with an opening angle of 120 degrees horizontally and 100 degrees vertically.

Mobile work machines on a safe course

The sensor achieves a range of up to an impressive 15 meters, although this maximum value can be reduced depending on the material, angle, and surface condition of the objects. Since the target applications are primarily object detection and collision avoidance, users do not need to worry about a lack of range.

Turck's new radar scanner achieves IP69K, the maximum protection against ingress of water and dust, and in this respect, meets all the requirements for the robustness of components for the mobile equipment sector. The M15-Q80 also scores points when it comes to mechanical resistance, as it can withstand shocks and impacts up to 100 g. This noticeably distinguishes radar technology from laser-based Lidar technology. Lidar systems require movable mirrors to guide the laser beams into every angle of the space to be captured. These movable mirrors are naturally susceptible to mechanical damage from shocks and vibration.

Robust in many respects

Therefore, radars are not only less sensitive to interference factors such as dust, fog, or light reflections, but are also much more mechanically robust. In addition to withstanding strong shocks, the MR15-Q80 also tolerates supply voltages of 12 or 24 volts, which are used in the electrical systems of mobile work machines – the sensor also survives any potential voltage peaks unscathed.

Turck positions the MR15-Q80 as a collision avoidance and object detection sensor for all non-safety-related tasks. It captures objects in its surroundings and - unlike similar devices - outputs measurements for all three dimensions. For mobile work machines, the new radar scanner is currently the only device on the market that can output a three-dimensional measurement via the SAE J1939 communication protocol for the CAN bus.

The MR15-Q80 provides distance and speed values for objects along all three spatial axes. This allows the environment and all objects within it to be represented much more precisely. Particularly machines that operate at different heights with arms or booms receive valuable additional information about their environment. Thanks to the 3D information, the control not only knows where an obstacle begins, but also where it ends and where the machine can operate with its arms. There are many more fields of application where having a precise knowledge of the space in front of machines can be helpful, for example in capturing topography and rock outcrops in mining.

Identification of animals and objects in the field

Another application in the mobile equipment sector is the detection of animals and objects in fields. Turck's radar scanner can be mounted directly on the thresher of the combine harvester to monitor the field in front of it. Due to the different reflection properties of animals or objects and grain stalks, the sensor can detect foreign bodies in the field that would either get damaged themselves or could damage the threshing mechanism. Thanks to the large opening angles of 120 degrees horizontally and 100 degrees vertically and a range of up to 15 meters, the radar scanner can reliably detect whether the field in front of the combine harvester can be harvested without any problems.

For these and other applications, users can define warning radii that trigger a switching signal as soon as an object is inside them. Switching signals can also be reliably triggered by certain intensity thresholds, which are important for distinguishing between objects. However, the control can also fully evaluate the IO-Link signal to make use of the entire information density. Up to six freely definable warning fields and three three-dimensional signal spaces can be taught and linked with one of the two switching outputs. If one of these warning fields is in the radar shadow because an object is between the sensor and the field, the sensor also recognizes this and issues a corresponding message.

Keeping an eye on the blind spot

Another possible application on mobile work machines is blind spot warnings, i.e., the monitoring of areas on the machine that are difficult to see. If objects are located there, the vehicle can be damaged. The warning radii and signal spaces are also helpful for this purpose to issue warning signals in time.

Alternative fields of application are also emerging in intralogistics. In particular, floor conveyors and driverless transport systems (DTS) need sensors for navigation and collision avoidance. In general, LIDAR scanners are used for safety-oriented environment monitoring. However, they are only partly suitable for vertical monitoring of lifting operations on autonomous forklifts, as they usually capture a small vertical opening angle. Special safety radars and scanners would also be oversized and therefore too expensive for the non-safety-relevant function of height control.

Exact and safe control of lifting movements

Turck's 3D radar scanner provides the necessary information for all three spatial dimensions and thus fully detects obstacles and environment. This information also makes the exact and safe control of lifting operations easier. The scanned data can additionally be used to secure drive-through heights and prevent damage to vehicles, goods, and plant components. Frequently, camera systems are used for these tasks, but they are usually more expensive and much more complex to commission.

The parameterization of such complex sensors, which output more than just an analog signal or one to two switching signals, often presents a challenge. Turck supports users with its configuration and IIoT software TAS (Turck Automation Suite). The toolkit greatly simplifies the commissioning and optimal setting of signal and intensity filters, capture angles, or warning radii. The software visualizes all raw data from the sensor in quasi-real-time in the web browser. Objects are displayed as points and clouds of points on two graphs, one for the vertical data and the other for the horizontal capture angles.

Turck offers two variants of the 3D radar scanner: one with IO-Link and one with an SAE-J1939 interface, which is mainly used for mobile work machines. Both devices have two conventional switching outputs in addition to the interface for the 3D data, which can be triggered by different threshold values.