Inovatica AGV

At the beginning of June, we had the opportunity to present autonomous forklifts at the largest industrial fair in Europe, Hannover Messe.

After a two-year break caused by a pandemic, the largest and one of the largest fairs, the Hannover Messe, has returned. The event, addressed mainly to the industry and the IT sector, gathered over 75,000 visitors and 2,500 exhibitors during the four days. During the event, you could also see the solutions of Inovatica AGV.

The advantages of autonomous forklifts could be found directly at the official Polish stand and virtually, because the fair was held simultaneously on the Internet. Our AGV solutions made in Łódź met with great interest, and we managed to carry out many valuable talks. At the fair, we are looking not only for customers, but also centers for joint research and development work and business partners. We hope that the contacts established will soon result in more than one cooperation.

The German Economy Minister Robert Habeck assessed the fair very positively after seeing the fair on Tuesday: “Simply taking into account all the technologies presented here, we have a solution to all our current crises. What we see at the fair is a reflection of the main problems of our time with concrete answers - which is a fascinating development."

This assessment was supported by the president of ZVEI and the chairman of the Hannover Messe Exhibitors' Advisory Council, Dr. Gunther Kegel, who explained: “The re-launch of the Hannover Messe was a great success and was at the right time. dialogue between politics and industry, especially in changing political and social times such as these. Based on their innovations, electric and digital companies have shown that they can be relied upon to transform towards a climate neutral industrial society."

Fair participants learned how they can use automation and digitization to improve the efficiency of internal transport. Important topics were also reducing energy consumption in factories and production plants, the production of electricity from hydrogen and building more resistant supply chains. At the Hannover Messe, you could discover the full range of solutions for the industry of tomorrow. From the digitization of development and production processes in the automotive industry, to algae as a substitute for plastic, to the targeted use of software to record and reduce the CO2 footprint.

The presence of Inovatica AGV at the fair was possible thanks to the support of:

• Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and the Polish ICT project - Industry Promotion Program
• The Marshal's Office of the Lodzkie Region and the project "LODZKIE GO! New markets for key industries of the Lodzkie Voivodship ”co-financed by the Regional Operational Program of the Lodzkie Voivodship for the years 2014 - 2020.

The next Hannover Messe fair takes place from 17 to 21 April 2023.

06/06/2022

Internal transport vehicles can carry out their tasks based on a Wi-Fi network. However, thanks to 5G, their capabilities increase significantly.

The 5G network offers higher speed, reliability and is able to support many more devices simultaneously. Thanks to this, the effectiveness of the devices connected to it has a direct impact. We checked whether the new network can have a positive impact on internal transport vehicles, e.g. autonomous forklifts.

TOP 5 applications of 5G

1. Communication and coordination of work between trucks

Many autonomous forklifts can work simultaneously within one warehouse or production plant. They can carry out various tasks by coordinating work or communicating with each other. Joint coordination of activities can be implemented through a central order issuing system that sends tasks to trucks in a fully automatic way. Another possible application can be a system of communication between trolleys, allowing to perform a certain set of internal transport tasks. Such a system would be a multi-agent system, i.e. a system consisting of agents communicating and cooperating with each other (in this case trucks), pursuing common goals. For each of these applications, it is advisable to implement a communication infrastructure based on a 5G network.

2. Security system

An important element of the safety system is the ability to stop the truck or the entire process remotely using safety buttons mounted in the logistics / production hall or in the remote console. To this end, it is required to implement a reliable and wireless communication medium with a very fast response time. The requirements of speed and reliability are met by a 5G network, which can be used as a wireless communication technology for a robot security system.

3. Remote diagnostics system for autonomous forklifts

5G technology can be used for monitoring and remote diagnostics, or even remote repair of autonomous forklifts. Due to the geographical dispersion of the system implementations, the possibility of diagnostics, monitoring and repair of vehicles from the seat of the implementing company is a significant facilitation and can significantly reduce the service time.

4. Analytics

Analysis of the internal transport process, e.g. location of trolleys, speed of internal transport tasks, number of stops, number of pallets transported, etc. usually generates large amounts of data. A trolley sending analytical data to the “big data” system, which is a large and variable set of data on the “behaviour” of trolleys, should use a high-speed network, e.g. 5G. Processing and analysis of the collected data enables gaining new knowledge for internal transport processes, and ultimately for optimization, increase of efficiency and reduction of costs.

5. Warehouse Management System integration

The Warehouse Information System is a program for managing the movement of products in warehouses, used in logistics. WMS-type solutions are used to coordinate warehouse work. These are highly specialized systems that improve all processes that take place in warehouses. Especially those handling a large number of diverse shipments every day, coming from many senders and directed to many recipients. The flow of goods in the warehouse is controlled by the WMS system, which can send internal transport orders to autonomous forklifts. Orders will be sent automatically, without the operator's participation. To this end, it is necessary to ensure communication between the WMS system and forklifts. Such communication can be provided, among others through the 5G network infrastructure.

04/08/2022

Automaticon 2022 exhibition gold medal for Inovatica AGV autonomous forklifts.

The jury of the fair together with the experts of the Łukasiewicz Research Network decided to award the main prize of the fair to Inovatica AGV. The success of the autonomous forklifts from Łódź was determined by their innovation and effective retrofitting of traditional forklifts.

AUTONOMOUS FORKLIFT INOVATICA AGV

The Inovatica AGV solution is an effective tool for automating internal transport. The distinguishing feature of the company is the fact that it provides both new vehicles and has retrofitting technology. It allows you to modernize your fleet of trucks to the AGV standard. The offered autonomous forklifts are delivered with a software package allowing for full management of them, including independent creation of new routes and work scenarios. The included software also facilitates the analysis and can be extended with the function of managing a fleet of industrial trucks. Importantly, the product meets stringent safety standards. Inovatica AGV trolleys are adapted to work with both Wi-Fi and 5G network. 

ADVANTAGES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGV

Risk minimization and security

The precision and strict adherence to safety procedures by AGVs mean less: accidents, damaged goods and damage to hall equipment. Robots and humans can work together effectively, and AGVs are the best example of this. Thanks to the environmental control, speed monitoring and anti-collision systems, this solution significantly increases safety in the workplace.

Cost optimization

Automation increases the competitiveness of, among others by lowering budgets for salaries, healthcare and other employee benefits. Additionally, it provides flexibility in managing warehouse working time. The average salary of a forklift operator in Germany will increase from the current EUR 32,900 to EUR 38,200 already in 2026. Autonomous forklifts are adapted to work independently of the circadian rhythm in the 24/7 system. Importantly, despite the passage of time, they retain the highest degree of precision and efficiency of work.


AGV vs automation systems

The implementation of AGV vehicles provides greater flexibility and is significantly cheaper than the preparation of automation for internal transport. They are also cheaper to maintain, and your fleet can be easily scaled depending on the demand.

AUTOMATICON 2022 EXHIBITION

The Warsaw Automaticon fair is an industry event for specialists. There are stands here, among others manufacturers and suppliers of machines, automation systems, communication systems and software. Robots and automation solutions are an important part of the fair. The ongoing event is the first in three years, and the organizers expect several hundred exhibitors and numerous visitors.

01/27/2022