AGV Mesh-Up 2022 set to take place

Following the world premiere of the first live test of the VDA 5050 communication interface in the AGV Mesh-Up during TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS 2021, a new edition of the test scenario will take place at Messe Dortmund in 2022. B2B trade visitors can observe the functions of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) for themselves from 21st to 23rd March and exchange ideas with developers and scientists.

The initiator of the event is once again the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association with its member companies. “There are now a number of industrial applications using VDA 5050, and at this year’s AGV Mesh-Up we will be showing the current state of development of the communication interface,” explains Andreas Scherb, who heads the Automated Guided Vehicles department in the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.

According to the association, not only will some new manufacturers be involved in the AGV Mesh-Up, but extended functionalities of the communication interface will also be presented. “We don’t want to reveal too much at this stage. But one thing is certain: it will once again be an exciting scenario; and trade visitors will be able to follow more interactions than last year,” emphasises Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg, CEO of SYNAOS GmbH, the VDMA member which is providing the guidance system for this year’s AGV Mesh-Up.

The aim of VDA 5050 is for automated transport vehicles in the warehouse, i.e. tugger trains, AGVs or autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), to communicate via plug-and-play technology independently of manufacturer and system. For the vehicles, this means in concrete terms: they drive with different types of navigation (for example, line-guided or contour-based), but communicate with the higher-level control system in a common data language.

At the test premiere in 2021, six vehicles from different suppliers drove under one control system via the VDA 5050. The name AGV Mesh-Up is based on a mesh WLAN, in which different components interlock and are seen as a unified WLAN.

The practical test was seen as an important milestone for industry on the way to Industry 4.0. For months, representatives of AGV manufacturers and users had exchanged views on the topic of higher-level control systems in production and logistics under the coordination of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association before the first live test was launched in 2021.

On the topic of VDA 5050, a prominent panel discussion will be held for the first time during the AGV Mesh-Up to discuss the status quo and the future of the communication interface. The session on 23rd March at 10 am will be moderated by Jan Drömer, CIO of ek robotics. Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg, CEO of SYNAOS, and Mathias Behounek, Managing Director of SAFELOG, will be on the podium. Dr Christian Reinema, Head of Logistics Planning Assembly at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Alexander Balandin, Head of Mobile Robots, Global Business Services at Robert Bosch, will contribute the user perspective to the discussion.

The AGV Mesh-Up is embedded in the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS, which takes place parallel to the IFOY TEST DAYS in March. Under the motto “Spot on Innovation and Business”, the test event with IFOY finalists, IFOY partners and internationally renowned manufacturers is open to a limited number of B2B trade visitors.

The sustainable, innovative event format on a total area of 9,800 sq m has been extended from two to three days to offer participants more time for test drives and intensive technical discussions with company representatives. Between 21st and 23rd March, guests can not only take part in guided highlight tours. For the first time, there will also be panel discussions on the trend topics of innovation management, intralogistics 4.0 and the AGV Mesh-Up.