Subscribe

Month: May 2022

GateHouse forms data tracking partnership with Sony

Posted on by Keith McKinley

GateHouse Maritime, a leading provider of ocean supply chain visibility and predictability services, has agreed with Sony Network Communications Europe for its cargo tracking solution, Visilion, to utilise its new data platform, OceanIO to extend the range of tracking for oceangoing cargo. OceanIO by GateHouse Maritime is designed to be easily integrated with existing applications and is scalable with more services to come.

Martin Dommerby Kristiansen, CEO at GateHouse Maritime, said: “We’re delighted to have made this agreement with Sony Network Communications Europe to support their world-class tracking solution, Visilion, with data on oceangoing cargo. Utilising OceanIO, Sony improves visibility of goods in transit from port to port. IoT technology and data analytics are key to the digital transformation of logistics.”

Based on re-usable smart trackers with sensors and a cloud service, Sony’s cargo tracking solution, Visilion, continuously gathers and uploads data which can be viewed on an intuitive web interface. It provides notifications about arrival and departure, positioning, temperature, shock, tilt and humidity detection, providing assurance to goods owners and freight forwarders of the whereabouts of goods in real time, whether they have been handled correctly or suffered route deviations, and if they will be delivered on time. OceanIO is easily connected to existing applications and Transport Management Systems through APIs.

Erik Lund, Head of the Tracking Division, Visilion at Sony Network Communications Europe, said: “GateHouse Maritime’s OceanIO platform combines extensive and comprehensive data sources to provide a robust and scalable foundation to extend the range and functionality of ocean visibility for the Visilion tracking solution. Working with GateHouse Maritime, we will continue the journey to provide customers with unparalleled visibility of their goods for all modes of transport.”

Sustainability benefits

Sony’s cargo tracking solution, Visilion, brings connectivity to the supply chain and paves the way for more environmentally sensitive decision making about choices of transport. With the incorporation of data services from the OceanIO platform, the capabilities of the Visilion solution have been extended. Using the OceanIO platform, Visilion can help its customers to improve efficiency in the supply chain with more detailed real-time visibility on sea.

Recently introduced by GateHouse Maritime, OceanIO daily receives up to 150 million new data points from diverse sources which includes nearly 300,000 oceangoing vessels as they report information regarding their geographical position, heading, speed and depth; together with inputs from 160 satellites and 2,500 terrestrial stations, 110 container freight carriers, 4,000 container ports and terminals, and meteorological activity reports.

Uniquely, OceanIO integrates GateHouse historical and trend data to allow for a more powerful and predictive end service. Using machine learning, predictive services can be developed for greater granularity and accuracy, allowing service providers to better report the progress of freight and meet customer’s expectations in an age when the supply chain has become greatly degraded and disrupted.

 

 

IFOY FINALIST FOCUS: robobrain.NEUROS

Posted on by David Priestman

Continuing our product-by-product examination of each of the IFOY Award nominated finalists ahead of the winners announcement at BMW World on 30th June, we look at robobrain.NEUROS, the AI-based robotics operating system from robominds.

IFOY category: Robot

robobrain.NEUROS: running intelligent robotics. The latest coup of the Munich robot company robominds is the neural robot operating system for intelligent robotics and a platform for the next generation of automation.

NEUROS – optimised for robobrain, the industrial PC and as a platform for all robots, grippers and other kinematics – creates an automation environment that is user-centric and easy-to-use: for application scenarios of any industry and company size.

Description

robobrain.NEUROS (= Neural Robotic Operating System) is the industrialised operating system for intelligent robotics. The innovative basic principle is that every feature of the robotic components becomes a skill on the industrialised OS – easily obtainable via the robominds Skill Store, adaptable to individual needs or self-developable thanks to the robominds Skill SDK.

In many ways, robobrain.NEUROS helps its users to improve their economic efficiency and saving in resources. Parameterising and configuring instead of programming: the profitability of this simplified adaptation of own processes and hardware is plain to see. Because the process is at the centre and provides the intelligence itself, it remains flexible and scalable to further installations. This ensures investments and allows responses to changed products and production processes.

Those who want to automate their process, either can reach for the existing skill or optimise it to their own requirements. Alternatively, one can develop a skill entirely on its own – thanks to the numerous integrated assistants and wizards based on a framework that already has many functions. When the new or adapted skills are trained, the patented robominds-process impresses once again with its resource savings: Thanks to the unique physics simulation environment, the most complex AI models can be trained within a few hours – without humans or machines having to be involved in the physical learning process.

CLICK HERE to watch a video of robobrain.NEUROS

IFOY TEST REPORT

The Munich-based robotics company robominds, founded in 2016, has reached the IFOY AWARD final with its neural robot operating system “robobrain.NEUROS”. Different skills can be uploaded to the software platform, for example a palletising application for intralogistics.

One platform, many applications, independent of components – this is how robominds comes to Dortmund. Optimised for the industrial PC robobrain and as a platform for all robots, grippers and other kinematics, NEUROS (Neural Robotic Operating System) creates an automation environment that is user-centric and easy to operate – for scenarios of any industry and company size. On the industrialised operating system, every function of the robotic components becomes a skill. The modular principle applies to both the software and the hardware. One skill, for example, is order picking. Several applications can be shown in the test setup: Palletising, box recognition, etc.

One does not see oneself as a system integrator, but as a problem solver. So the focus is not on the gripper itself, but always on the application. The skills, in turn, are easy to obtain: via the robominds Skill Store, individually adaptable or to develop yourself thanks to the robominds Skill Software Development Kit (SDK). There are vision skills (such as item picking or bin picking), control skills for the simple programming of robots or the fleet management of several robot cells, or driver skills for various robots, grippers, cameras, etc.

In times of shorter product life cycles and production quantities up to batch size 1, flexible processes place ever new demands on production and material flow for all companies. That’s why the processes are always coming to the fore – the process is actually the core of modern production. And this is where robobrain.NEUROS comes into the game: Valuable process knowledge becomes more easily accessible through the robot operating system. At the same time, data security, data integrity and trusted AI are maintained through adherence to European standards, which is essential in the digital world and especially in the production environment.

The transformation towards adaptive processes affects just about all processes in the production of a material or goods flow. In robotics in particular, the potential for flexible applications is being exploited, which are thus becoming increasingly diversified and finding their way into different environments and applications. Especially the new fields of robotics, for example logistics or medicine, are growing the fastest – and so is the market potential for NEUROS. robobrain.NEUROS is already being used by corporations in various industries, especially in the automotive industry, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, and intralogistics.

Flexible systems independent of hardware: This means that standard components can be used and the process adapted over their lifetime. This means that applications can not only be implemented cost-efficiently, but also that investments can be safeguarded for the future. The same advantages also apply to the areas of commissioning and operational capability – uncomplicated, fast and far-reaching thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).

IFOY Test Verdict:

The robobrain.NEUROS neural robot operating system can serve as a platform for the next generation of automation in logistics. It can be used to (create) an automation environment that is easy to use, economical and can save resources.

IFOY INNOVATION CHECK

Market relevance: The manufacturer-neutral neural robot operating system for intelligent robotics NEUROS aims to provide flexible robot processes for material flow and manufacturing as an answer to ever shorter product cycles and small series production. In this context, NEUROS addresses not only a wide variety of logistical processes in the areas of warehousing, pharmaceuticals and food, but also in production intralogistics through to assembly skills. The very high market relevance results from the breadth of applications and supported robot systems and the self-image as a technology supplier for system integrators.

Customer benefit: The user benefits from the process knowledge encapsulated in reusable robot skills, which are purchased instead of developed for individual automation systems in the Skill Store, as well as parameterised and configured instead of programmed. This enables new processes to be set up quickly and existing hardware to be used flexibly for a wide range of tasks in the long term. Due to its manufacturer-independent applicability, the Skill-Store also offers developers an ecosystem for marketing new capabilities.

Novelty: Open robot operating systems with a skill library have been realised in part before (e.g. ROS), but not consistently with the technical quality standards as with NEUROS. The profound support of AI methods should be emphasised as an innovation. Thanks to a physics simulation, new robot skills can be developed and trained in a few hours without real data. At the same time, the operation always remains clear and controllable. Another special feature is the quality assurance of software contributions from external developers and the assurance of Trusted AI according to European standards.

Functionality / type of implementation: The test robots reliably demonstrated a wide variety of logistical tasks such as model-free product separation, palletising of packages or sorting of test tubes. The special focus on stability, function and safety of the overall system is also reflected in the use of the specially developed AI industrial PC robobrain. In addition, NEUROS implements the specifics of AI-based solutions in an expedient, market-oriented and application-oriented manner, including simulation-based training methods, useful software tools, generic basic functions and the inclusion of hardware design. The system is modular and open to new technologies.

Verdict: The market relevance of a manufacturer-neutral and reliable robotics operating system with native support for AI-based processes can be classified as very high. Reusable robot skills, the possibility of using data and experience across manufacturer boundaries, and Trusted AI from Germany offer customers innovative added value. Even if not all ideas are entirely new, their high-quality implementation in NEUROS represents a new quality.

market relevance ++
customer benefit ++
novelty +
functionality / type of implementation ++
[++ very good / + good / Ø balanced / – less / – – not available]

For an overview of all the finalists, visit www.ifoy.org

CLICK HERE to find out more about robobrain.NEUROS.

 

 

IFOY FINALIST FOCUS: robobrain.NEUROS

Posted on by David Priestman

Continuing our product-by-product examination of each of the IFOY Award nominated finalists ahead of the winners announcement at BMW World on 30th June, we look at robobrain.NEUROS, the AI-based robotics operating system from robominds.

IFOY category: Robot

robobrain.NEUROS: running intelligent robotics. The latest coup of the Munich robot company robominds is the neural robot operating system for intelligent robotics and a platform for the next generation of automation.

NEUROS – optimised for robobrain, the industrial PC and as a platform for all robots, grippers and other kinematics – creates an automation environment that is user-centric and easy-to-use: for application scenarios of any industry and company size.

Description

robobrain.NEUROS (= Neural Robotic Operating System) is the industrialised operating system for intelligent robotics. The innovative basic principle is that every feature of the robotic components becomes a skill on the industrialised OS – easily obtainable via the robominds Skill Store, adaptable to individual needs or self-developable thanks to the robominds Skill SDK.

In many ways, robobrain.NEUROS helps its users to improve their economic efficiency and saving in resources. Parameterising and configuring instead of programming: the profitability of this simplified adaptation of own processes and hardware is plain to see. Because the process is at the centre and provides the intelligence itself, it remains flexible and scalable to further installations. This ensures investments and allows responses to changed products and production processes.

Those who want to automate their process, either can reach for the existing skill or optimise it to their own requirements. Alternatively, one can develop a skill entirely on its own – thanks to the numerous integrated assistants and wizards based on a framework that already has many functions. When the new or adapted skills are trained, the patented robominds-process impresses once again with its resource savings: Thanks to the unique physics simulation environment, the most complex AI models can be trained within a few hours – without humans or machines having to be involved in the physical learning process.

CLICK HERE to watch a video of robobrain.NEUROS

IFOY TEST REPORT

The Munich-based robotics company robominds, founded in 2016, has reached the IFOY AWARD final with its neural robot operating system “robobrain.NEUROS”. Different skills can be uploaded to the software platform, for example a palletising application for intralogistics.

One platform, many applications, independent of components – this is how robominds comes to Dortmund. Optimised for the industrial PC robobrain and as a platform for all robots, grippers and other kinematics, NEUROS (Neural Robotic Operating System) creates an automation environment that is user-centric and easy to operate – for scenarios of any industry and company size. On the industrialised operating system, every function of the robotic components becomes a skill. The modular principle applies to both the software and the hardware. One skill, for example, is order picking. Several applications can be shown in the test setup: Palletising, box recognition, etc.

One does not see oneself as a system integrator, but as a problem solver. So the focus is not on the gripper itself, but always on the application. The skills, in turn, are easy to obtain: via the robominds Skill Store, individually adaptable or to develop yourself thanks to the robominds Skill Software Development Kit (SDK). There are vision skills (such as item picking or bin picking), control skills for the simple programming of robots or the fleet management of several robot cells, or driver skills for various robots, grippers, cameras, etc.

In times of shorter product life cycles and production quantities up to batch size 1, flexible processes place ever new demands on production and material flow for all companies. That’s why the processes are always coming to the fore – the process is actually the core of modern production. And this is where robobrain.NEUROS comes into the game: Valuable process knowledge becomes more easily accessible through the robot operating system. At the same time, data security, data integrity and trusted AI are maintained through adherence to European standards, which is essential in the digital world and especially in the production environment.

The transformation towards adaptive processes affects just about all processes in the production of a material or goods flow. In robotics in particular, the potential for flexible applications is being exploited, which are thus becoming increasingly diversified and finding their way into different environments and applications. Especially the new fields of robotics, for example logistics or medicine, are growing the fastest – and so is the market potential for NEUROS. robobrain.NEUROS is already being used by corporations in various industries, especially in the automotive industry, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, and intralogistics.

Flexible systems independent of hardware: This means that standard components can be used and the process adapted over their lifetime. This means that applications can not only be implemented cost-efficiently, but also that investments can be safeguarded for the future. The same advantages also apply to the areas of commissioning and operational capability – uncomplicated, fast and far-reaching thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).

IFOY Test Verdict:

The robobrain.NEUROS neural robot operating system can serve as a platform for the next generation of automation in logistics. It can be used to (create) an automation environment that is easy to use, economical and can save resources.

IFOY INNOVATION CHECK

Market relevance: The manufacturer-neutral neural robot operating system for intelligent robotics NEUROS aims to provide flexible robot processes for material flow and manufacturing as an answer to ever shorter product cycles and small series production. In this context, NEUROS addresses not only a wide variety of logistical processes in the areas of warehousing, pharmaceuticals and food, but also in production intralogistics through to assembly skills. The very high market relevance results from the breadth of applications and supported robot systems and the self-image as a technology supplier for system integrators.

Customer benefit: The user benefits from the process knowledge encapsulated in reusable robot skills, which are purchased instead of developed for individual automation systems in the Skill Store, as well as parameterised and configured instead of programmed. This enables new processes to be set up quickly and existing hardware to be used flexibly for a wide range of tasks in the long term. Due to its manufacturer-independent applicability, the Skill-Store also offers developers an ecosystem for marketing new capabilities.

Novelty: Open robot operating systems with a skill library have been realised in part before (e.g. ROS), but not consistently with the technical quality standards as with NEUROS. The profound support of AI methods should be emphasised as an innovation. Thanks to a physics simulation, new robot skills can be developed and trained in a few hours without real data. At the same time, the operation always remains clear and controllable. Another special feature is the quality assurance of software contributions from external developers and the assurance of Trusted AI according to European standards.

Functionality / type of implementation: The test robots reliably demonstrated a wide variety of logistical tasks such as model-free product separation, palletising of packages or sorting of test tubes. The special focus on stability, function and safety of the overall system is also reflected in the use of the specially developed AI industrial PC robobrain. In addition, NEUROS implements the specifics of AI-based solutions in an expedient, market-oriented and application-oriented manner, including simulation-based training methods, useful software tools, generic basic functions and the inclusion of hardware design. The system is modular and open to new technologies.

Verdict: The market relevance of a manufacturer-neutral and reliable robotics operating system with native support for AI-based processes can be classified as very high. Reusable robot skills, the possibility of using data and experience across manufacturer boundaries, and Trusted AI from Germany offer customers innovative added value. Even if not all ideas are entirely new, their high-quality implementation in NEUROS represents a new quality.

market relevance ++
customer benefit ++
novelty +
functionality / type of implementation ++
[++ very good / + good / Ø balanced / – less / – – not available]

For an overview of all the finalists, visit www.ifoy.org

CLICK HERE to find out more about robobrain.NEUROS.

 

 

Dematic brings interactive stand to LogiMAT

Posted on by David Priestman

Dematic is putting customers and their requirements front and centre at its trade show appearance in Stuttgart, transforming its stand into a unique customer experience at the upcoming LogiMAT, May 31 to June 2. For an interactive trade show experience, the company will unveil 15 showcases where innovation can be experienced live with the help of 3D configurations, 360° tours and augmented reality. This approach allows specific and fully automated warehouse solutions to be visualised, tested and remotely controlled on site.

Under a new slogan, #bringiton, Dematic plans to encourage stand visitors and customers to use new material flow solutions to benefit from opportunities that achieve a competitive advantage. Dematic aims to address current challenges customers in intralogistics are facing, thereby demonstrating how it is a premier partner to deliver the most suitable solutions. The two-story Dematic booth is located in Hall 1 at Booth B37.

“Customer experience is Dematic’s top priority at LogiMAT. In an ongoing dialogue with customers, we want to understand their requirements from the entire intralogistics value chain so that we can help strengthen their competitiveness over the long term with innovative solutions customised to their exact needs,” explains Bernard Biolchini, Executive Vice President (EVP) EMEA at Dematic. The company has identified key challenges the industry is currently facing, such as overcoming staff shortages and space constraints, achieving reliable delivery times despite shortages in raw materials, planning reliability for project costs, changing consumer behaviour and further digitalisation initiatives.

The Dematic executive added: “Over the last two years, many operating parameters have changed and they require new thinking and a deep understanding of our customers’ needs.  At LogiMAT we want to captivate our visitors with new approaches and present them in an extraordinary way.”

Biolchini also mentioned that customers will also have an opportunity to meet many of the executives from the EMEA region, which underwent a new alignment in early 2022 to better meet local customer needs with Dematic’s global experience.

Visitors to the Dematic stand can obtain information and exchange ideas as they normally do, but they can also demo new products on-site.  Notes Dr. Jens Hardenacke, the managing director at Dematic Central Europe: “Our guests will not only be able to see our solutions on product displays, but they can also experience them ‘live’ in innovative ways.”

Thus, visitors have an opportunity to first illustrate their individual automation project in a 3D view and then to operate it live. They can use virtual reality goggles for remote machine maintenance as one example of how the concept translates.

“I am looking forward to showing in a more interactive way how Dematic can support customers from start to finish in terms of their automation journey with our broad set of advanced applications that feature both the best technology options on the market and demonstrate our ability to meet the specific needs of various industries we serve,” explains Hardenacke.

In addition to ground-breaking e-commerce solutions, mixed case fulfilment, pallet storage and mobile automation, Dematic also plans to unveil its new visual remote inspection service for intralogistics equipment at the show. It can significantly reduce the time and effort required for maintenance but without compromising quality. Regular safety checks and visual inspections can be accomplished with the help of drones. Dematic will be conducting live drone flights at its German headquarters in Heusenstamm – near Frankfurt – at LogiMAT. Dematic also plans to demonstrate the use of a digital twin for predictive maintenance.

“With a digital twin, we can also perform a software health check with interactive dashboards, digital showcases and VR applications, which helps reduce time and costs for the customer during maintenance,” says Hardenacke.

 

Dematic brings interactive stand to LogiMAT

Posted on by David Priestman

Dematic is putting customers and their requirements front and centre at its trade show appearance in Stuttgart, transforming its stand into a unique customer experience at the upcoming LogiMAT, May 31 to June 2. For an interactive trade show experience, the company will unveil 15 showcases where innovation can be experienced live with the help of 3D configurations, 360° tours and augmented reality. This approach allows specific and fully automated warehouse solutions to be visualised, tested and remotely controlled on site.

Under a new slogan, #bringiton, Dematic plans to encourage stand visitors and customers to use new material flow solutions to benefit from opportunities that achieve a competitive advantage. Dematic aims to address current challenges customers in intralogistics are facing, thereby demonstrating how it is a premier partner to deliver the most suitable solutions. The two-story Dematic booth is located in Hall 1 at Booth B37.

“Customer experience is Dematic’s top priority at LogiMAT. In an ongoing dialogue with customers, we want to understand their requirements from the entire intralogistics value chain so that we can help strengthen their competitiveness over the long term with innovative solutions customised to their exact needs,” explains Bernard Biolchini, Executive Vice President (EVP) EMEA at Dematic. The company has identified key challenges the industry is currently facing, such as overcoming staff shortages and space constraints, achieving reliable delivery times despite shortages in raw materials, planning reliability for project costs, changing consumer behaviour and further digitalisation initiatives.

The Dematic executive added: “Over the last two years, many operating parameters have changed and they require new thinking and a deep understanding of our customers’ needs.  At LogiMAT we want to captivate our visitors with new approaches and present them in an extraordinary way.”

Biolchini also mentioned that customers will also have an opportunity to meet many of the executives from the EMEA region, which underwent a new alignment in early 2022 to better meet local customer needs with Dematic’s global experience.

Visitors to the Dematic stand can obtain information and exchange ideas as they normally do, but they can also demo new products on-site.  Notes Dr. Jens Hardenacke, the managing director at Dematic Central Europe: “Our guests will not only be able to see our solutions on product displays, but they can also experience them ‘live’ in innovative ways.”

Thus, visitors have an opportunity to first illustrate their individual automation project in a 3D view and then to operate it live. They can use virtual reality goggles for remote machine maintenance as one example of how the concept translates.

“I am looking forward to showing in a more interactive way how Dematic can support customers from start to finish in terms of their automation journey with our broad set of advanced applications that feature both the best technology options on the market and demonstrate our ability to meet the specific needs of various industries we serve,” explains Hardenacke.

In addition to ground-breaking e-commerce solutions, mixed case fulfilment, pallet storage and mobile automation, Dematic also plans to unveil its new visual remote inspection service for intralogistics equipment at the show. It can significantly reduce the time and effort required for maintenance but without compromising quality. Regular safety checks and visual inspections can be accomplished with the help of drones. Dematic will be conducting live drone flights at its German headquarters in Heusenstamm – near Frankfurt – at LogiMAT. Dematic also plans to demonstrate the use of a digital twin for predictive maintenance.

“With a digital twin, we can also perform a software health check with interactive dashboards, digital showcases and VR applications, which helps reduce time and costs for the customer during maintenance,” says Hardenacke.

 

Panasonic equips The Pallet Network with TOUGHBOOK tablets

Posted on by David Priestman

UK pallet freight delivery network The Pallet Network (TPN) has mobilised its forklift trucks at the company’s three depots with 150 new Panasonic TOUGHBOOK Android tablets, helping to improve productivity and customer service in the competitive logistics industry.

“We had ageing Windows 7 devices mounted in our forklifts that were no longer supported and getting pretty tired,” explained Robert Haigh, IT Director at TPN. “These devices are critical to our operations, so it was clear that they needed to be modernised. As well as upgrading the old hardware, we also knew we could make further improvements by moving to the latest Android platform and deploying new software for our forklift operators to use.”

Working with trusted IT services partner Renovotec, the company set about evaluating options and assessed all the leading industry providers alongside Panasonic TOUGHBOOK and its rugged Android A3 tablet. The critical factors in choosing the Panasonic devices were their ruggedness and reliability in the challenging working environment and the ability to run TPN’s in-house developed software application for managing and moving the pallets. In addition, ease of management and long-term support for the devices were other important considerations.

“The Panasonic device immediately stood out as different,” said Robert. “It was a much more polished and complete package in terms of design and robustness.  Ultimately, we now have a solution that is ideal for our working environment and that we can rely upon to do the job, allowing us to concentrate on delivering a fast, transparent and competitive service to our customers.”

CLICK HERE to view the video.

 

Panasonic equips The Pallet Network with TOUGHBOOK tablets

Posted on by David Priestman

UK pallet freight delivery network The Pallet Network (TPN) has mobilised its forklift trucks at the company’s three depots with 150 new Panasonic TOUGHBOOK Android tablets, helping to improve productivity and customer service in the competitive logistics industry.

“We had ageing Windows 7 devices mounted in our forklifts that were no longer supported and getting pretty tired,” explained Robert Haigh, IT Director at TPN. “These devices are critical to our operations, so it was clear that they needed to be modernised. As well as upgrading the old hardware, we also knew we could make further improvements by moving to the latest Android platform and deploying new software for our forklift operators to use.”

Working with trusted IT services partner Renovotec, the company set about evaluating options and assessed all the leading industry providers alongside Panasonic TOUGHBOOK and its rugged Android A3 tablet. The critical factors in choosing the Panasonic devices were their ruggedness and reliability in the challenging working environment and the ability to run TPN’s in-house developed software application for managing and moving the pallets. In addition, ease of management and long-term support for the devices were other important considerations.

“The Panasonic device immediately stood out as different,” said Robert. “It was a much more polished and complete package in terms of design and robustness.  Ultimately, we now have a solution that is ideal for our working environment and that we can rely upon to do the job, allowing us to concentrate on delivering a fast, transparent and competitive service to our customers.”

CLICK HERE to view the video.

 

MAN trials automation with Magazino robot

Posted on by David Priestman

The robotics company Magazino has acquired MAN as a customer for a pilot project with its SOTO mobile robot. SOTO automates the material supply between the warehouse and the assembly line, by handling and transporting small load carriers (KLT) completely autonomously. The pilot operation started at MAN’s Nuremberg, Germany site in the engine production for trucks, and offers both sides the opportunity to gain experiences with the robot for a future live operation.

MAN and Magazino have had a close development partnership in recent years. Among other things, hardware and software, as well as environment requirements for a live operation in an industrial plant were defined. The pilot project is now scheduled to run for around one year and lays the foundation for the implementation of an entire fleet of SOTO robots in 2023.

Dr Ingo Essel, Plant Manager Nuremberg, says: “We want to set up our logistics efficiently and effectively for the future and use the potential of digitalisation and automation in the process. With the help of SOTO, the entire delivery process can be fully automated, from depalletising in the automated small parts warehouse to provisioning in assembly.

“This way, we are pushing the topic of “advanced robotics” and building a smart supply chain in the interaction of humans and robots. We are pleased to have found a partner in Magazino who can optimally serve our high demands for automation in factory logistics and provide a flexible and scalable automation concept.”

Paul Seluga, Magazino’s Project Manager for the pilot project with MAN, describes the target process as follows: “The robot SOTO picks up the KLTs from the handover-rack of the automatic small parts warehouse and brings up to 18 KLTs simultaneously to the production line. There, SOTO places the KLTs, which can weigh up to 20kg, into common flow racks. On the back of these racks, the workers can easily access the individual parts for assembly. SOTO can also pick up empty KLTs in the process and bring them to the central collection point.”

Common VDA KLT formats up to a size of 600mm x 400mm x 280mm are used in the Nuremberg plant. The robot’s adaptive gripper automatically adjusts to the corresponding KLT size and flexibly moves to the different chutes of the transfer racks. Machine-readable codes on the racks as well as barcode labels on the containers help the robot to identify them. In future, the robot will obtain the material transport requests from the warehouse management system.

While assembly lines in the manufacturing industry are already highly automated and optimised, the supply of replenishments is still mainly done manually. Previous solutions such as tugger trains or simple automated guided vehicles (AGVs) cannot fully automate the process, as manual labour is required for loading and unloading the KLTs into racks.

SOTO combines these elementary logistical processes in a single, fully autonomous solution: the pick-up of different KLTs from a warehouse, the autonomous transport of several KLTs through the production, and the put-down of KLTs into flow racks close to the production line. The collection of empties as well as the rotation of small load carriers by 90° to 180° are also part of its features. The automation and combination of all these process steps clearly sets SOTO apart in the market and, for the first time, enables true end-to-end automation in the material supply.

MAN trials automation with Magazino robot

Posted on by David Priestman

The robotics company Magazino has acquired MAN as a customer for a pilot project with its SOTO mobile robot. SOTO automates the material supply between the warehouse and the assembly line, by handling and transporting small load carriers (KLT) completely autonomously. The pilot operation started at MAN’s Nuremberg, Germany site in the engine production for trucks, and offers both sides the opportunity to gain experiences with the robot for a future live operation.

MAN and Magazino have had a close development partnership in recent years. Among other things, hardware and software, as well as environment requirements for a live operation in an industrial plant were defined. The pilot project is now scheduled to run for around one year and lays the foundation for the implementation of an entire fleet of SOTO robots in 2023.

Dr Ingo Essel, Plant Manager Nuremberg, says: “We want to set up our logistics efficiently and effectively for the future and use the potential of digitalisation and automation in the process. With the help of SOTO, the entire delivery process can be fully automated, from depalletising in the automated small parts warehouse to provisioning in assembly.

“This way, we are pushing the topic of “advanced robotics” and building a smart supply chain in the interaction of humans and robots. We are pleased to have found a partner in Magazino who can optimally serve our high demands for automation in factory logistics and provide a flexible and scalable automation concept.”

Paul Seluga, Magazino’s Project Manager for the pilot project with MAN, describes the target process as follows: “The robot SOTO picks up the KLTs from the handover-rack of the automatic small parts warehouse and brings up to 18 KLTs simultaneously to the production line. There, SOTO places the KLTs, which can weigh up to 20kg, into common flow racks. On the back of these racks, the workers can easily access the individual parts for assembly. SOTO can also pick up empty KLTs in the process and bring them to the central collection point.”

Common VDA KLT formats up to a size of 600mm x 400mm x 280mm are used in the Nuremberg plant. The robot’s adaptive gripper automatically adjusts to the corresponding KLT size and flexibly moves to the different chutes of the transfer racks. Machine-readable codes on the racks as well as barcode labels on the containers help the robot to identify them. In future, the robot will obtain the material transport requests from the warehouse management system.

While assembly lines in the manufacturing industry are already highly automated and optimised, the supply of replenishments is still mainly done manually. Previous solutions such as tugger trains or simple automated guided vehicles (AGVs) cannot fully automate the process, as manual labour is required for loading and unloading the KLTs into racks.

SOTO combines these elementary logistical processes in a single, fully autonomous solution: the pick-up of different KLTs from a warehouse, the autonomous transport of several KLTs through the production, and the put-down of KLTs into flow racks close to the production line. The collection of empties as well as the rotation of small load carriers by 90° to 180° are also part of its features. The automation and combination of all these process steps clearly sets SOTO apart in the market and, for the first time, enables true end-to-end automation in the material supply.

Continental premieres AMRs at LogiMAT

Posted on by David Priestman

Continental will present for the first time in public its Autonomous Mobile Robots for the external market at the LogiMAT 2022, the international intralogistics tradeshow, from May 31 to June 2 in Stuttgart, Germany (hall 2, booth number EF15).

After an internal test phase in Continental production locations worldwide, the AMRs are now ready for the external market entry with improved and new features as well as the handling of new use cases. Building on the company’s years of extensive research in the robotics field, Continental is including these solutions now into its product portfolio in the newly established area of Continental Mobile Robots.

“We are pleased to confirm that from now on volume production of the AMRs has started in Continental’s Rheinböllen plant in Germany with the first external customer projects slated to be delivered,” says Pierre Pomper, Head of Autonomous Mobile Robots at Continental. “Continental complements its in-house capabilities with a partner ecosystem of technology leaders Kinexon and ROEQ to provide customers a leading edge AMR solution out of one hand.”

Since 2020, Continental’s AMRs have been successfully deployed at several own production locations worldwide. The company built its Autonomous Mobile Robots in-house to meet the demands and challenges of the future factory, since such a solution was not readily available in the market. The experience gained has now been incorporated into the AMR version for the external market.

Due to the load density, the electric vehicles are as small and compact as possible, but can carry very heavy weights. With measurements of only 1,455mm, 630mm and 225mm (l/w/h), the AMRs can carry significant loads up to 1.2 tonnes at a speed of up to 2m/s. Thus, they are versatile, while also being maximally manoeuvrable. Increased torque, shorter turning radius, optimised sensor coverage, improvements to its lifting mechanism design and accessibility of controls as well as the easy equipment for the transport of carts, pallets and top rollers are additional features.

Customers can benefit from a partnership between Continental and Kinexon. The fleet management software of Kinexon which is offered optionally turns an AMR fleet into an intelligent and perfectly coordinated swarm. The creation of orders and routes as well as the management of the AMRs will become much easier and more standardised (e.g., using the VDA5050 protocol).

“We developed a reliable and scalable fleet management software in collaboration with Continental, which increases the flexibility and performance of our customers AMR fleets. Additionally, we offer an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) system for connecting relevant things of the material flow such as AMRs. Our holistic fleet management software combines this information in real time to optimise supply chains, material flow and industrial automation even more,” says Dr. Alexander Hüttenbrink, Managing Director at Kinexon.

Continental is able to offer its AMRs with different top modules. Customers can choose between cart/rack and lifting unit use cases. Due to the close collaboration with ROEQ, a leading expert for robotic equipment, Continental can now also offer top roller modules, for transferring loads between AMRs and conveyors. The number of options offered is what makes Continental’s offering so unique. At LogiMAT, an AMR with top roller module from ROEQ will be shown as a world premiere.

“We are excited to team up with a strong partner like Continental,” says Michael E. Hansen, Managing Director at ROEQ. “We are on a path of significant growth and I am convinced that our collaboration will provide customers with a wider choice of better and more robust solutions to meet their logistic challenges.”

The AMRs are an attractive shopfloor logistics solution for several industries including logistics and warehousing, automotive, food and beverage as well as electrical and electronics. They work hand-in-hand with humans, reduce manual activities such as driving forklift trucks, speed up transport and provide an accurate overview of shopfloor inventory and its storage location. Continental offers everything from a single source, which is not quite common in the market and a big benefit for the customers: From consulting, sales, integration, service and support to maintenance contracts and a 24-hour support – everything out of one hand.

Subscribe

Get notified about New Episodes of our Podcast, New Magazine Issues and stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter.