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feaTure
sensors & sensinG sYsTeMs
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For over 70 years, SICK has been developing innovative sensor technologies. Here Alwin Van Binsbergen, manager industrial sensing – Europe Southwest, SICK, guides us through the developments, and the technologies shaping the future
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ounded by engineer and inventor Erwin Sick in 1946, SICK has spent more than 70 years developing innovative and
intelligent sensor technologies, driven by a passion for engineering and industrial safety. One of Dr Sick’s earliest developments was the safety light grid, the first industrial optical safety sensor. Inspired by the technology used in lighthouse towers, he adapted it into a vertical systemthat could detect interruptions to a light beam, automatically stopping machinery and significantly improving workplace safety. From the development of its first product,
SICK expanded its portfolio of sensor technologies and grew into a global company with 10,000+ employees worldwide. Along the way, innovations such as photoelectric sensors found their way into lifts, escalators, supermarket conveyor systems and other everyday applications.
The developmenT of indusTrial lighT sensors Up until 30-40 years ago, SICK supplied photoelectric sensors with replacement light bulbs, which typically needed changing every
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900–1,000 hours. Today, LEDs have replaced those bulbs and the technology has evolved significantly, to become more precise and sophisticated. However, the basic principle remains the same. A light source emits a signal and a receiver detects it. Early optical sensing systems relied on
simple light interruption, while modern sensors use amplitude measurement and coded light pulse widths. By encoding hundreds of different pulse lengths into the signal, sensors can distinguish their own light source from interference caused by sunlight, strobe lighting and other ambient light sources.
incremenTal improvemenTs in opTical sensors over Three decades Within the past 30 years, technology has advanced dramatically in areas such as smartphones and computing power. By comparison, optical sensor technology has progressed through continuous incremental improvements, rather than a single revolutionary leap. While the underlying principles have remained broadly the same for
5 DeSIGn SOLUtIOnS 1971-2026 JulY/auGusT 2026
three decades, devices have become smaller, faster and more complex. There are also physical limits to what can be
achieved. Similar to digital SLR cameras, light must be captured by lenses and directed onto a sensor. As a rule of thumb, monitoring a distance of 2-2.5m requires a sensor approximately the size of a fist, while monitoring distances of 10-15cm requires a sensor roughly the size of a little finger. This has traditionally constrained the size and accuracy of light sensors. Modern sensors are more capable, robust and
resistant to interference from ambient light than ever before. Advances in LED technology and plastic injection-moulded optics have improved performance, reliability and durability.
Technologies shaping a fuTure for lighT sensors There are now two key technological developments with the potential to transform optical sensing: meta-optics and photonics.
Meta-optics Meta-optics uses transparent materials comprising planar surfaces embedded with
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