SICK's company history

• A printed mark control device for the packaging industry
• First light curtain for accident prevention on production machines

 Static accident prevention light curtain with hollow mirror, without mirror wheel.

First optical-electronic flue gas monitor based on the autocollimation principle.

First rapid optical counter with display and integrated target value definition for quick detection of small objects.

First weft winder monitor for very thin knitting thread (autocollimation principle).

First optical height scanner for regulating filling levels.

First curve control device for guiding a duplicating milling machine according to a construction diagram – the predecessor of today's NC milling machine.

 Bar-code identification of packing lists, folding boxes, tins, tubes, etc. in the pharmaceutical industry.

 First luminescence scanner for detecting luminophores in objects.

Fiber-optic cable for detecting small objects when space is tight.

Introduction of the semiconductor diode for the transmitter beam in photoelectric switches and proximity switches.

First safety grid curtain for controlling protective hoods on eccentric presses.

First color-ring code reader for detecting colored ring codes on ampules.

First area scanner with V-shaped, rotating beam and special reflector in safety category 2 for protecting hazardous areas.

First in-situ gas measurement device for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide (filter correlator).

First volume flow measuring device based on the ultrasound time-of-flight process.

Carbon monoxide measuring device for monitoring emissions in road tunnels.

 First in-situ diode array spectrometer for sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and ammonia.

First distance determination with laser light on the time-of-flight of pulses principle.

First area scanner in safety category 3 for protecting hazardous areas.

First color sensor.

First time-of-flight device for positioning items in high-bay warehouses.

First photoelectric switch with ambient light.

First miniature photoelectric switch with background suppression.

First application of a proximity laser scanner for volume measurement.

First luminescence scanner in the field of automation technology with UV LED.

SICK modular advanced recognition technology (SMART) makes it possible to identify even damaged bar codes.

First photoelectric proximity sensor which is insensitive to ambient light sources.

First photoelectric switch for detecting light sections of a laser line on a 32 x 32 pixel field for determining the shape and position of objects.

First budget photoelectric switch based on time-of-flight technology.

First photoelectric switch with Teflon-coated housing for the electronic and process industry.

First bar code reader with integrated autofocus based on time-of-flight technology.

Smallest fully extrusion-coated magnet sensor

Miniature cylinder sensor.

Safety bus system.

High-speed 2D code reader. 

Teach-in vision sensor.

 Proximity laser scanner with dynamic protective field switching for automated guided systems.

New generation of photoelectric switches: Sensor array with place- and time-triggered measurement of both the object to be detected and especially the environment.

3D camera sensors.

First high-safety, camera-based safety system for presses.

IO-Link: Continuous communication through innovative sensor/actuator interface.

RFID systems make it possible to identify objects without visual contact between reader and object to be identified.

Smallest safety laser scanner S300.

High-end CCD sensor with integrated illumination.

Navigation based on natural landmarks.

Color Ranger E: The world's first high-speed 3D camera with high-performance color measurements.

EKS/EKM36: New motor feedback system with digital HIPERFACE DSL interface.

MERCEM300Z: Advanced mercury monitoring system with improved sensitivity.

 GHG-Control: Measuring greenhouse gases instead of calculating them

Flexi Loop: The unique, remote integration design of the Flexi Loop allows SICK to meet the demand for cost-saving cascading of safe switches and sensors within a machine. 2013