3D ultrasonic safety moves with a palletizing robot: beRobox PALTZ and Sonair ADAR One

At PACK EXPO International 2026, beRobox unveiled 3D Dynamic Safety for its PALTZ palletizing solution, powered by Sonair's ADAR One 3D ultrasonic safety sensor. The distinctive idea is a protective sensing zone that moves with the robot arm instead of remaining fixed around the entire workstation.

Why does moving the protective zone matter?

Conventional palletizing cells often rely on fences, light curtains, or fixed-area sensors to manage human access. Depending on the cell design, changing a pallet can require stopping the entire operation.

beRobox's approach mounts the sensor on the robot arm, combining its changing position with three-dimensional presence detection. The system can react more selectively to where an operator is located. In the manufacturer's example, an operator can change a pallet at one station while the robot continues working at another — subject to the complete system's risk assessment and safety configuration.

How ADAR One works

ADAR stands for Acoustic Detection and Ranging. Rather than relying on camera images or laser scanning, the device uses airborne ultrasound and reflected signals to detect the presence of people and objects in 3D space.

Sonair publishes the following specifications for ADAR One:

Detection range: up to 4 m.
Field of view: 180° × 180°.
Response time: 112 ms.
Sensor functional-safety rating: SIL 2 / PL d.

Ultrasonic sensing may be useful where lighting changes, dust, or reflective surfaces complicate other approaches. Actual performance must still be validated for each installation.

Relevance to Vietnamese manufacturers

This technology may be relevant to food and beverage, packaging, logistics, and other plants operating multi-station palletizing cells. One potential benefit is avoiding unnecessary full-cell stoppages during pallet changeovers or material handling.

Important safety distinction: A SIL 2 / PL d-rated sensor does not automatically make an entire robot cell SIL 2 / PL d, nor does it mean protective fencing can simply be removed. Integrators must assess stopping distances, blind spots, robot speed, safety logic, and applicable standards before deployment.

Watch the demonstration and read the sources

Edited and independently written by Kỹ Sư Thập Cẩm using the linked sources. Technical specifications and use cases are manufacturer claims, not independently verified deployments in Vietnam. Cover image: Sonair's photograph of an ADAR sensor on a mobile robot (not a photograph of the beRobox PALTZ cell discussed above), linked from Sonair's host. Image rights remain with the owner.