XBot Safety

There is a risk of injury due to the strong magnets contained inside the XBots.

The strong magnets may interfere with the operation of pacemakers and other medical devices and equipment.

XBot Orientation

XBot Top Side (Weak)

The magnetic field strength on the top of the XBot is weak, but it is still dangerous to pacemaker users.

XBot Bottom Side (Strong)

The magnetic field strength on the bottom of the XBot is very strong. It will attract ferromagnetic materials even at a large distances. The attractive force is sufficient to cause significant injury. Do not use ferromagnetic tools on or near the XBot's bottom side.

XBot Bottom Side Safety

Do not use tools with ferromagnetic materials on or near the bottom of the XBot. Such tools may be suddenly attracted to the XBot, causing damage or injury.

Do not place the XBot near any furniture with ferromagnetic materials, such as steel tables. The XBot may be suddenly attracted to such furniture, causing injury.

XBot Placement on the Flyway

The XBot must be placed top side up on the Flyway.

Do not place an XBot bottom side up on the Flyway. The strong magnetic field from the bottom side may attract components unexpectedly.

XBot Handling

Always use both hands to manually move the XBot.

Do not use only one hand to hold an XBot. This risks inadvertently dropping the XBot onto a ferromagnetic object, or otherwise allowing it to come into contact with a ferromagnetic object.

One user should never hold two XBots at the same time. The XBots may be attracted to each other and harm the user’s hands.

Never move one XBot over another XBot. The XBots may be suddenly attracted to each other and cause injury to fingers or hands.

XBot Storage

Always place XBots top side up into the provided storage box when not in use.

Never leave XBots outside of the storage box when the XBots are not on the Flyway. An untrained user may pick up an XBot or place a ferromagnetic object near the XBot.

Do not place an XBot with its bottom side up anywhere.

XBot Magnetic Field Safety

The magnetic field generated by the XBots and Flyways can be harmful to pacemaker and implant wearers. When Flyways are in operation, maintain a minimum distance of 20 cm (8 in) between the Flyways and the pacemaker or implant location.
The permanent magnets in the XBots have a strong magnetic field.
When an XBot is removed from the Planar Motor System, place it in the intended storage box to prevent unwanted interaction between ferromagnetic/magnetic materials and the XBot.
Magnetic fields that occur can set ferromagnetic and magnetic materials into motion, creating potential projectiles or pinch points. Various electronic equipment or magnetic data storage media can also be affected by these magnetic fields.

The XBots contain strong permanent magnets that can pose a hazard for persons with active implanted medical devices (AIMDs). AIMDs include pacemakers, implanted cardiac defibrillators, cochlear implants, implanted insulin pumps, neurostimulators, etc.

According to EU Directive 2013/35/EU, for safety, people with AIMDs should not be exposed to a magnetic field with a flux density greater than 0.5 mT. This relates to an approximate distance of 20 cm from the pacemaker to the XBot. When packaging the XBots for handling by unqualified personnel, the packager should ensure the magnetic flux density is less than 0.5 mT at all outside surfaces of the package.

For shipping strong magnets by air, if the magnetic flux density is less than 2X10^-7 T when measured 2.1m (7 feet) from the outside package, the package is not considered to contain magnetic material, and hence is not classified as Dangerous Goods. All Planar Motor XBots' magnetic fields are less than 2X10^-7 T at 2.1m from the XBot, and hence are safe for air travel.

The magnetic field diagrams for different XBot sizes can be found: