SICK EXPANDS ITS DIGITAL PORTFOLIO WITH NEW SENSOR MODELS

NEW VALIDATED SENSOR MODELS FOR SIMULATION IN THE OPENUSD FORMAT AND ASSISTED BY NVIDIA TECHNOLOGIES

Having provided more digital sensor models of 2D and 3D LiDAR sensors, safety scanners and camera sensors in the Universal Scene Description Data (OpenUSD) format, SICK is opening up new possibilities for virtual engineering with NVIDIA technologies and for the practical simulation of sensor-based applications under realistic conditions. This expansion of the digital portfolio of autonomous perception solutions enables integration into the latest NVIDIA Isaac Sim 5.0 – an open source framework for robot simulations based on the NVIDIA Omniverse libraries. This offers SICK's customers even more flexibility and possibilities for testing sensors as digital models in virtual usage environments. Functions can be checked and optimized before the physical hardware is available, which can significantly accelerate the development and testing of new machines.

Furthermore, SICK's expanded offering of virtual sensor models improves the performance of the systems and machines of its customers, which can lead to higher customer satisfaction and greater customer loyalty.

Virtual sensor models - digital twins of sensor optical principles 

In the constantly evolving scenarios of industrial automation and digitalization – including where real testing is only possible to a limited extent or at great expense – simulation environments like Isaac Sim represent very efficient tools for developing new machines, robots and systems. They make it possible to experiment with diverse configurations, usage and environment scenarios without experiencing the potential restrictions of physical prototypes. This not only accelerates development processes but also increases the performance and reliability of the end product. 

 

To be able to develop and test perception and control systems under realistic conditions, the virtual sensor models from SICK were validated and modeled on the optical parameters of real autonomous perception devices by SICK specialists. This enables these digital twins to generate valid data in simulation processes that can be used in Isaac Sim, for example, to test diverse configurations of sensors, develop and evaluate algorithms and sensor functions, and generate training data for AI-assisted vision solutions. 

New SICK sensor models directly usable

The new virtual sensor models of the LiDAR sensors MRS1104C, multiScan156, picoScan150 and TiM781, the safety laser scanners nanoScan3 and mcroScan3, and the vision sensors Inspector83x and safeVisionary2 can be integrated directly into existing projects with NVIDIA Isaac Sim without additional modifications. The sensor models are integrated as metadata of visual USD models. The models are available both on the Isaac Sim platform and via SICK channels. The sensor models have also been designed in such a way that they can be flexibly adapted to customer requirements with regard to level of detail and sensor variance.

SICK: a leader in digital innovations

The expansion of SICK's wide range of virtual sensor models is an important step in the direction of digital innovation. The provision of sensor models in the OpenUSD format – an open source technology – enables sensor simulations to be flexibly used in diverse industrial metaverse tools. This integration, with which SICK is making an important contribution to the advancement of modern development processes, is just the first step, however. By using the NVIDIA Omniverse RTX sensor, SICK will be able to respond even more quickly to customer requirements, for example by developing new sensor models or adapting existing ones. Furthermore, this allows the company as a technology partner to also offer future-proof services in virtual engineering, and ensure that its customers receive tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for their applications.

About SICK: 

SICK is one of the world’s leading solutions providers for sensor-based applications in the industrial sector. Founded in 1946 by Dr.-Ing. e. h. Erwin Sick and headquartered in Waldkirch in Breisgau near Freiburg, the company is one of the technology and market leaders and is present around the globe with 63 subsidiaries and holdings as well as numerous agencies. SICK has more than 10,000 employees worldwide and generated a group revenue of EUR 2.1 billion in the 2024 fiscal year. Further information on SICK is available on the Internet atwww.sick.com.