Inxpect

What it does

Inxpect makes safety radar: short-range radar sensors and control units that detect people in a defined 3D zone around a machine and tell the machine to stop or not to start. It is a protective device in the machine safety sense, not an alerting camera. The main uses Inxpect describes are preventing access to dangerous areas, preventing a robot cell from restarting while someone is inside, anti-collision for bridge cranes, and protecting loading areas used by mobile robots ^[1].

Radar is the selling point. Inxpect says its frequency-modulated radar keeps working where optical sensors such as light curtains and laser scanners struggle, including dust, smoke, water, swarf and changing light ^[1]. Inxpect says its sensors detect a person's presence even from the small movements of breathing, which matters for restart prevention, where a worker may be crouched and still inside a cell ^[8].

Inxpect says its 100 and 200 series are certified SIL 2 under IEC 62061 and PL d under ISO 13849 ^[3]. An Inxpect case study on its certification with TÜV Italia (TÜV SÜD Group) says the radar received an EC type-examination certificate and was assessed as SIL 2, PL d, performance class D under IEC TS 62998-1 and as a Type 3 electro-sensitive protective device under IEC 61496-1, and that the draft of IEC TS 61496-5, the new specification for radar protective devices, was used to check the requirements ^[4]. Inxpect now advertises its 200 series as IEC TS 61496-5 certified ^[1].

Who it is for

The main buyers are machine builders, robot integrators and plant engineers who need area or restart protection where optical devices give nuisance trips. Examples include a welding line at the BMW Group plant in Munich ^[8] and, in 2026, autonomous mowers from Exmark, a division of The Toro Company, which stop when a bystander is detected ^[9].

How it is deployed

Sensors are mounted around or on the machine and connected to a control unit, which links to the machine's safety controller over safety I/O or safety fieldbuses including PROFIsafe, FSoE and CIP Safety ^[6]. A typical sensor such as the S201A-W covers 0 to 5 m with a configurable field of view ^[5]. Coverage areas, I/O and parameters are set and validated in the Inxpect Safety Application, which runs on a PC or Mac and can produce validation reports ^[10]. Inxpect offers a URCap plug-in for Universal Robots cobots ^[12].

As with any protective device, the integrator must calculate safety distances, design the full safety function and validate it on the machine.

Notable public customers and coverage

Inxpect SpA is based at Via Serpente 91, Brescia ^[11]. Inxpect says it was founded in 2015 by Luca Salgarelli, who is CEO, and names its executive board ^{[2] [8]}. Named deployments are BMW Group in Munich ^[8] and Exmark ^[9]; both are vendor announcements without measured safety outcomes. Inxpect publishes a PSIRT page with a vulnerability reporting route ^[7]. We found no independent field study of safety radar performance; certifications are reported by Inxpect.

Things to ask in an evaluation

• Which certificates apply to the exact sensor and control unit models, and can you see them with the safety manual?
• What are the response time and minimum safety distance for your machine?
• How does the system handle metal structures, moving parts and other radar sources nearby?
• Which radio approvals cover the countries where you operate?
• How are configuration changes protected and logged after validation?

Our take

Strengths

• Safety-rated presence detection that Inxpect says works in dust, smoke and swarf, where optical sensors trip or fail ^{[1] [3]}.
• Detailed certification story with a notified body, including SIL 2, PL d and IEC TS 61496-5 (vendor-reported) ^{[3] [4]}.
• Connects to common safety fieldbuses and Universal Robots cobots ^{[6] [12]}.

Watch-outs

• No public pricing or measured customer outcomes; named deployments are announcements ^{[8] [9]}.
• Radar coverage is a 3D volume that cannot be seen on site, so configuration, validation and documentation matter ^[10].
• Safety depends on correct integration and safety distance calculation by the machine builder ^[4].

Best fit: Machine builders and plants that need certified area guarding or restart prevention in dirty, dusty or wet environments where light curtains and laser scanners cause nuisance trips.