Description

Toposens ECHO ONE is a groundbreaking 3D ultrasonic sensor, inspired by the sophisticated echolocation abilities of bats. This innovative technology represents a significant leap forward in the realm of mobile robotics, providing a unique solution for 3D collision avoidance. The sensor employs ultrasonic waves to map its surroundings in three dimensions, enabling precise object detection and spatial awareness for autonomous systems.
It operates on the principle of echolocation, similar to how bats navigate and perceive their environment. By emitting ultrasonic pulses and analyzing the reflected signals, the sensor constructs a real-time, detailed 3D map of the surroundings. This comprehensive spatial understanding allows mobile robots to navigate complex environments with a high degree of accuracy and safety.
The intended use of ECHO ONE spans a wide range of applications within the field of robotics. From industrial automation and logistics to service robots and autonomous vehicles, the sensor enhances the capabilities of machines operating in dynamic and unpredictable environments. Its ability to detect and avoid obstacles in three dimensions makes it particularly valuable for scenarios where traditional sensors fall short.

Innovations

The key innovation of the Toposens ECHO ONE compared to predecessors is the combination of hardware that is even better adapted to the requirements together with intelligent, proprietary software with specially developed noise filters and algorithms (Toposens Processing Unit). This ensures even better detection of objects compared to conventional 1D ultrasonic sensors. Moreover, it features a very low energy consumption, which is crucial for the profitability of the system.
Compared to similar sensor products on the market: While optical systems such as LiDAR and cameras are based on light and therefore struggle in adverse environmental conditions, the Toposens ECHO ONE uses ultrasonic waves to capture the respective environment in three dimensions. These waves are reflected by any objects in the environment, including those with transparent, mirrored, or dark surfaces.
This enables precise, real-time detection of objects completely independent of lighting conditions and surface textures. As a result, the system is ideal for mobile robotics applications where precise 3D collision avoidance is crucial.
Even in outdoor application and in rainy or dusty environments, as evidenced by the IP67 certification.

Market relevance

In today’s Industry 4.0 and Intralogistics 4.0, there are several key demands and trends shaping the landscape of modern industrial and logistics processes. One of them is the integration of autonomous systems and in particular mobile robots, such as AGVs and AMRs. These systems enhance flexibility, reduce manual labor, and improve the accuracy of various tasks in both manufacturing and logistics. To do this, these mopbile robots rely on sensors to perceive their environment. However, there is currently no sufficient solution to the challenges of sophisticated environment perception in range-finding sensors. Especially in 3D ultra-short-range for highest reliability 3D collision avoidance. With no blind zone, an ultra-wide opening angle and multiple-object detection, Toposens ECHO ONE is a cost-effective, reliable and efficient solution. With our sensor the high costs of accidents can be reduced improving safety in manufacturing environments and increasing the ROI of AGV applications.

Customer benefits

The main advantage lies in the acoustic sensor technology itself, which is a perfect complement to optical systems due to the basic physical requirements. Where optical systems reach their limits (see above), the Toposens ECHO ONE recognises its environment both indoors and outdoors, regardless of optical conditions. For this reason every manufacturer of mobile robots should in future rely not only on optical but also on acoustic sensors, otherwise referred to as sensor fusion.
Another decisive USP is the protection of employee privacy as well as sensitive data and internal processes. Unfortunately, this extremely important factor cannot be guaranteed by optical systems or, in the worst case, can even be exploited. For this reason, some camera sensors are disqualified by works councils due to their potential breach of anonymity. In the age of automation, there is increasing pressure from end customers on manufacturers of mobile robots, not only in terms of the efficiency and safety of the robot, but also the safety and privacy of the worker. The Toposens ECHO ONE guarantees this protection of privacy as it perceives its surroundings via ultrasonic signals, in other words acoustic sensing, and not via optical environmental perception.