UWB-based collision prevention fits each forklift with a UWB unit and gives each pedestrian a wearable tag; the units continuously measure the distance between them by radio. When a person comes inside a set distance, the operator gets a cab alert and the pedestrian's tag vibrates, sounds or lights, and on compatible forklifts the truck can slow automatically. Because the radio signal passes around racking and loads, UWB detects people the operator cannot see. It detects only people carrying a charged, worn tag, so visitor and tag-compliance rules are part of the system.
The full overview is forklift proximity detection systems. Warning distances should be set per zone: a wide bubble suits open yards, while a narrow aisle needs a smaller one or alarms will fire constantly, a pattern covered in forklift alarm fatigue.
Plan the tag program as carefully as the hardware: who issues tags, how they are charged, how wearing is checked, and what happens to visitors and contractors. Most systems also log each close interaction with time, truck and location, which gives a measure of exposure that can drive layout changes. NIOSH’s work on proximity detection for mining machines describes the same tag-and-zone principle in a harsher setting.