Seamless connectivity

Sick has launched IDpro, a standardised software platform to enable all Sick auto-ident devices to communicate with each other.

The platform achieves seamless connectivity between Sick's laser barcode scanners, 2D/3D vision cameras and RFID interrogators. The benefits are faster communication and virtual elimination of errors in data transfer between devices, enabling factory automation and logistics control networks to operate more efficiently.

Tim Stokes, AutoIdent product specialist for Sick (UK), comments: "It's the only complete connectivity interface on the market. Previously, devices have often been developed at different times with different software versions.

"The variation means they often can't talk directly to each other, so you get bottlenecks and reading errors, sometimes slowing down networks and even causing crashes."