Safety Overview
The J1600 uses layered safety: navigation, sensing, an independent safety controller, certified actuation, human confirmation, and physical override. A 360-degree protective field supports forward and reverse autonomous travel. This page summarizes the architecture, the assigned Performance Levels, and the compliance list; a deeper treatment is in How J1600 safety works.
Safety components
- Independent safety controller.
- Two 2D safety LiDAR scanners, front and rear.
- Three emergency-stop buttons.
- Belly button for stop and reverse.
- Load-detection sensor.
- Tiller-position switch for emergency stop.
- Tiller-position switch for manual control.
- Safety-certified driving-speed encoder.
- Safety-certified driving-direction encoder.
- Two safety-certified motor controllers.
Operating behavior
- The operator must confirm entry into automatic mode, and the robot tells the operator to step away before starting.
- Blue floor light strips display the protected area and status; three blue light strips show the current safety zone.
- The protective field changes with speed and expands at higher speeds.
- Grabbing or moving the tiller enables immediate manual takeover.
- 3D navigation maps and avoids objects, while the separate 2D safety stack supplies certified personnel protection — see Navigation and obstacle avoidance.
Safety functions and Performance Levels
J1600 safety functions carry the following preliminary Performance Levels (PL) per EN ISO 13849-1:
| Safety function | Performance Level |
|---|---|
| Braking system | PL d |
| Speed monitoring and control | PL c |
| Safety-field size adjustment | PL d |
| Load detection | PL b |
| Charging-current relay | PL b |
| Emergency-stop button | PL d |
| Person detection in safety field | PL d |
| Automatic/manual mode selection | PL c |
| Tiller-position detection | PL c |
These levels apply to individual functions within the architecture; they do not mean every subsystem shares the same PL.
Standards and compliance
The J1600 is CE marked. The preliminary compliance list:
European directives and regulation
- Directive 2006/42/EC — Machinery Directive
- Directive 2014/30/EU — EMC Directive
- Directive 2014/53/EU — Radio Equipment Directive (RED)
- Directive 2011/65/EU — RoHS
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 — Batteries Regulation
Standards
- EN ISO 3691-4:2023
- EN ISO 13849-1:2023
- EN ISO 12100:2010
- EN ISO 3691-1:2015+A1:2020
- ANSI/ITSDF B56.5-2024
- ANSI/ITSDF B56.1-2020
Battery transport testing
- UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, subsection 38.3 (UN 38.3)
In short: the J1600 meets EU and US safety requirements, in particular ISO 3691-4 and ANSI/ITSDF B56.5. Request certificates, test reports, declaration numbers, notified-body information, and country-specific approvals through the company or a partner.
Benefits and limits
The built-in safety functions improve predictability and may reduce workplace accidents compared with manual pallet handling. For safety-distance curves, stopping distances, and validation data, use current product documentation for deployment decisions and site risk assessments.
Human control complements rather than replaces the certified safety systems — the operator's role is part of the design, not the only safeguard. See Dual mode and Human-in-the-loop automation.
Related pages
- Safety and compliance section — site-level safety guidance.
- Operating environment — the site limits the safety design assumes.
- Glossary — Performance Level, safety field, and related terms.