Safety requirements and safety functions for decentralized controlled autonomous systems

Flexibility and safety are important criteria for automated material handling systems. Autonomous and decentralized controlled systems are flexible but they also pose new challenges in safety. We describe KARIS, a decentralized controlled, autonomous intralogistic system and indicate the differences to conventional autonomous guided vehicles. Based on the results of a risk assessment, we point out the particular challenges to safety technology and describe the developed safety functions. They are evaluated and compared to required performance levels determined by the risk assessment.