The Functional Safety Unit (FSU) is a component of the Yaskawa robot controller that provides programmable safety functions that enable collaborative operation of the robot. As these safety functions are programmable, the FSU allows the minimization of nearby overall equipment footprint, as well as human accessible areas. The FSU consists of two parallel Central Processing Units (CPUs) run concurrently, thereby providing dual channel checking. In addition, the FSU acquires robot position from its encoders independently from the motion control system of the robot. Based on this feedback, the FSU monitors the manipulator and tool’s position, speed and posture.